Posted on 12/13/2004 3:54:46 PM PST by Paul Ross
Reprinted from NewsMax.com
Russia Beefing Up Missile Forces
Phil Brennan, NewsMax.comIs there a new Cold War and arms race underway?
Monday, Dec. 13, 2004
Today's RIA Novosti quoted Solovtsov as telling a Moscow news conference "Currently we are planning re-arming another regiment with the Topol-M missiles. In the last years, we have commissioned four missile regiments, a 40-launcher force," he added.
The Topol-M was described last year by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov as "... the most advanced, state-of-the-art missile in the world. Only such weapons can ensure and guarantee our sovereignty and security and make any attempts to put military pressure on Russia absolutely senseless."
Solovtsov revealed that the first regiments armed with mobile Topols would come into action within two to three years, the ultimate goal of the Topol program being to have several divisions deployed. He told reporters that in 2006 three to nine mobile Topol-M launchers will be commissioned.
"In 2005 the mobile launchers will not yet begin combat duty, but after 2006 we will deploy three to nine missiles per year," he said.
The Russian SS-27, or Topol-M, is an intercontinental-range, ground-based, solid propellant ballistic missile, according to the Claremont Institute's MISSILETHREAT.com. "It represents the pinnacle of ballistic missile technology, incorporating modern fuel and warhead designs, as well as being capable of being launched from both missile silos and transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL) vehicles."
Russian Defense officials claim that the SS-27 is invulnerable to any modern anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defenses and will be the foundation of the Russian strategic nuclear arsenal by 2015.
They insist that the SS-27 is certainly immune to any ABM defense the United States can put into being.
Claremont says it is capable of making evasive maneuvers as it approaches its target, enabling it to evade any terminal phase interceptors. Moreover the SS-27 is also designed to survive a strike from any laser technology available, rendering any current space-based laser useless.
Adds Claremont "The SS-27 can currently strike any target within the continental United States. The deployment from hardened silos and hidden TEL vehicles makes it nearly impossible to successfully prevent launch, and current ABM technology is insufficient to prevent its successful impact.
"As a solid propellant design, it can be maintained on alert for prolonged periods of time and can launch within minutes of being given the order.
"Its confirmed, single 550 kT warhead is sufficient for the depopulation of cities, which combined with its survivability, makes it an ideal retaliatory weapon. The SS-27 enables Russia to guarantee a successful nuclear response."
The SS-27 has a range of 10,500 km (6524 miles) and is reported to typically be equipped with a 550 kT yield nuclear warhead. The first two SS-27 missiles entered service in 1997 in modified SS-19 silos.
The first silo-based missile regiment was declared operational in 1998, with a second in 1999, a third in 2000 and a fourth in 2003. The first TEL versions entered service in 2001. It was originally planned to build 350 missiles, but this has been amended to the construction of 50 missiles by 2005.
A sea-based version is under development under the name Bulava.
Claremont Institute is finally beginning to be noticed!
My only question become with the Russian economy in such disarray and the military industrial complex being a shadow of its former self... where did the technology for this come from?
China....that is the most likely scenario....
You really begin wonder how much the dirty pool Clintons played with China is going to cost the US in the long run.
I wonder if we'll lend the money to pay for their new toys?
We paid them to destroy their old missiles. Now they're building new missiles. Amazing !
"I'm much more worried if they start selling the technology to nations like Korea, Syria, and Iran. Russia is a country with too much to lose by starting a war with the US."
Well, that's the point. They can sell or threaten to sell this technology to other countries in order to blackmail the U.S. They're hoping they can get a little leverage out of this.
Armoring up the RV can be done. But not the missile itself, unless they can get the RV up to full speed, and drops the booster, before it exits the atmosphere for its arc to target.
No Wonder Bush can See into Putin's Soul!
so much for stability.
The key to any evasion would be to avoid detection.
At one time in the 1980s it was claimed that the Russian subs could dive so deep that it was impossible to sink.
Except we had nuclear depth charges.
I would say if you can track something, you can take it out.
If it is going above Mach 5, reaction time is minimal. So I imagine that type of speed must be something the Russians have in the missle.
We recently tested SCAMJET technology that might be able to intercept such a beast, and it breathes air, not solid rocket propellant.
i don't understand why rasPutin is so paranoid.
the euros aren't going to attack russia, nor are we.
I guess, on the bright side, they couldn't put the old missles on the auction block.
ebay'll be pi**ed !
Now you got me remembering a '60s "Batman" scene with Batman chastising an admiral for selling a
used nuclear sub to someone (Penguin?) with a false address.
Russia is a huge country with a history of making the world take notice.
If Putin can't show that Russia has the power to exert influence under his leadership, the people of Russia won't support him for long.
Russia's stability requires that they be able to exert some level of influence in the world. They aren't content to be a minor player in the world. It's better to have them able to have some power to influence the world, then to let them feel that they need to prove to the world that they are still a major power.
They aren't afraid of being attacked. They are afraid of losing influence in the world.
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