A briefing slide of the alleged Status-6 nuclear torpedo captured from Russian television via the BBC
Posted on 11/14/2015 5:13:44 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
A proposed Russian submarine launched doomsday weapon — the existence of which was almost certainly leaked by the Kremlin — gives clues to the Russian mindset for the development of new strategic weapons in the face of the West’s increasing ballistic missile defense capability and Russia’s shrinking national assets, a naval analyst told USNI News on Thursday.
The Status-6 weapon was revealed on Wednesday during a Russian broadcast of a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and military leaders in Sochi and a screengrab of the weapon was widely circulated following the broadcast.
The weapon is allegedly a “robotic mini-submarine†capable of speeds 100 knots with a range of 6,200 miles, according to state controlled press and designed to “destroy important economic installations of the enemy in coastal areas and cause guaranteed devastating damage to the country’s territory by creating wide areas of radioactive contamination, rendering them unusable for military, economic or other activity for a long time,†according to a translation of the document by the BBC.
Immediately before the reveal of the weapon Putin was discussing how the emerging U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) network in Europe was “an attempt to undermine the existing parity in strategic nuclear weapons and essentially to upset the whole system of global and regional stability,†according to the BBC.
Russia has been highly critical of the creation of two Aegis Ashore installations — one in Romania and one in Poland — that are land-based versions of the BMD capability found on some U.S. Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyers (DDG-51). In addition to Aegis Ashore, the U.S. has recently completed the basing of a quartet of BMD capable Burkes in Rota, Spain that are part of the Obama administrations European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) to BMD.
Eric Wertheim — naval analyst and author of U.S. Naval Institute’s Combat Fleets of the World — told USNI News on Thursday the reveal of Status-6 was telling as to the current Russian arms development mindset.
“It shows that they’re thinking about non-conventional weapons in line with Cold War era thinking,†he said.
“The West is developing weapons — like the Small Diameter Bomb — that create a smaller more targeted effect. This type of weapon is exactly the opposite.â€
The differences in the strengths and weaknesses of the Russian defense industrial base are much more extreme than the West’s.
For example, the Russian’s are second only to the U.S. in the development of nuclear submarines and their latest attack submarine design has earned praise from U.S. Navy officials.
However, the Russians lag behind the West in the manufacture of maritime gas turbines and Russian Navy’s surface ship construction is suffering as a result.
A weapon like Status-6 would play into Russia’s current military strengths and provide the Kremlin with a strategic deterrent that would bypass the growing American acumen at BMD, he said.
The weapon also comes with the benefit of being relatively inexpensive. While Putin has pledged to boost military spending, the last year has seen a massive drop in the value of Russian currency and decline in revenues from oil.
“They want to develop weapons that are cheap but also effective,†Wertheim said.
The reveal of the weapon also allows the Russians to display a degree of self confidence and capability as Russia begins to rebuild its high-end military capability after decades of neglect.
“They need a saber to rattle,†Wertheim said. “Whether or not this turns out to be real or a figment of their imagination remains to be seen but it shows where they’re going with their weapons development and that they’re thinking outside the box.â€
A briefing slide of the alleged Status-6 nuclear torpedo captured from Russian television via the BBC
Unmanned drone subs make lots of sense.
Since the treaty was launched, Russia has deployed 111 new nuclear warheads, bringing its total number of deployed warheads to 1,648. That treaty limit is 1,550 warheads - a number that must be reached in 2018.
Comparatively, the numbers of U.S. nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers have fallen dramatically and are already below the limits set by the treaty. Additionally, the United States has decreased the number of warheads in its deployed nuclear arsenal by 250.
While the United States intends to eliminate heavy bombers and launchers, Russia has launched a strategic nuclear force expansion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also recently announced a new doctrine that placed priority on nuclear forces.
If this raises concern for you, you are not alone.
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, said Russia "is in the business of violating treaties."
Rogers said Putin has violated several agreements and treaties in the past, and he simply "violates any treaty or agreement that puts limits on capabilities that Mr. Putin and his cronies desire."
"Russia's arguable adherence to the New START Treaty just indicates how bad a deal it is for the United States," he said.
Adm. William Gortney, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, said Wednesday that Russia has read our play book and is "fielding cruise missiles that are very, very accurate, very long range."
Gortney said these missiles have the ability to reach targets in Canada and the United States. He added that Russia has been participating in war game scenarios recently that simulate cruise missile strikes in Alaska.
This news is serious because it appears Russia has no intention of abiding by New START or any other treaty. We should therefore be building up our military and our arsenals instead of depleting them.
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From the FreeBeacon:
Russia Adds 111 Warheads Under Arms Treaty
Moscow warheads above New START treaty limit
By: Bill Gertz
October 9, 2015
Russia has now deployed more than 100 nuclear warheads in its strategic arsenal above the limits set by the New START arms treaty limits, two years before it must meet treaty arms reduction goals.
"New START nuclear warhead and delivery system numbers made public Oct. 1 reveal that since the 2010 arms accord went into force, Moscow increased the number of deployed nuclear warheads by a total of 111 weapons for a total of 1,648 deployed warheads. That number is 98 warheads above the treaty limit of 1,550 warheads that must be reached by the 2018 deadline of the treaty.
At the same time, U.S. nuclear warheads, missiles, and bombers have fallen sharply and remain below the required levels under the New START pact.
The United States during the same period of the Russian increases cut its deployed nuclear arsenal by 250 warheads. ..."
(more...)
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russia-adds-111-warheads-under-arms-treaty/
Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs
February 29, 2008 :: News
MissileThreat.com
A video has surfaced of Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama talking on his plans for strategic issues such as nuclear weapons and missile defense.
The full text from the video, as released, reads as follows:
Thanks so much for the Caucus4Priorities, for the great work you've been doing. As president, I will end misguided defense policies and stand with Caucus4Priorities in fighting special interests in Washington.
First, I'll stop spending $9 billion a month in Iraq. I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning. And as president I will end it.[i.e. not win it]
Second, I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending.
I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems.
I will not weaponize space.
I will slow our development of future combat systems.
And I will institute an independent "Defense Priorities Board" to ensure that the Quadrennial Defense Review is not used to justify unnecessary spending.
Third, I will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons. To seek that goal, I will not develop new nuclear weapons; I will seek a global ban on the production of fissile material; and I will negotiate with Russia to take our ICBMs off hair-trigger alert, and to achieve deep cuts in our nuclear arsenals.
You know where I stand. I've fought for open, ethical and accountable government my entire public life. I don't switch positions or make promises that can't be kept. I don't posture on defense policy and I don't take money from federal lobbyists for powerful defense contractors. As president, my sole priority for defense spending will be protecting the American people. Thanks so much.
Article: Obama Pledges Cuts in Missile Defense, Space, and Nuclear Weapons Programs:
http://web.archive.org/web/20090412030633/http://missilethreat.com/archives/id.7086/detail.asp
"MissileThreat.com is a project of The Claremont Institute devoted to understanding and promoting the requirements for the strategic defense of the United States."
Obama To Betray Missile Defense Secrets To Moscow
Investor's Business Daily ^ | January 9, 2012 | IBD staff
Appeasement: From ObamaCare to recess appointments, honoring the Constitution has not been an administration hallmark. But when it comes to betraying secrets to mollify the Russians, it becomes a document the president hides behind.
It was bad enough that the 2012 defense authorization bill signed by President Obama set America on a downward spiral of military mediocrity.
He also issued a signing statement, something he once opposed, saying that language in the bill aimed at protecting top-secret technical data on the U.S. Standard Missile-3 - linchpin of our missile defense - might impinge on his constitutional foreign-policy authority.
Section 1227 of the defense law prohibits spending any funds that would be used to give Russian officials access to sensitive missile-defense technology as part of a cooperation agreement without first sending Congress a report identifying the specific secrets, how they'd be used and steps to protect the data from compromise.
The president is required to certify that any technology shared will not be passed on to third parties such as China, North Korea or Iran, that the Russians will not use transferred secrets to develop countermeasures and that the Russians are reciprocating in sharing missile-defense technology. ..."
"In his signing statement, Obama said he would treat these legal restrictions as 'non-binding' and that 'my administration will also interpret and implement section 1244 (sic) in a manner that does not interfere with the president's constitutional authority to conduct foreign affairs and avoids the undue disclosure of sensitive diplomatic communications.'
Betraying our secrets is easy for a president who betrayed allies Poland and the Czech Republic to placate Moscow.
Poland was to host ground-based interceptors such as those we've deployed in California and Alaska, with missile-tracking radar deployed in the Czech Republic.
Obama pulled the plug when Moscow objected. Never mind, he said, we have a better approach: a four-phase plan that calls for using three versions of the Navy's Standard SM-3 interceptor missile that forms the backbone of its Aegis missile-defense system.
The fourth phase consists of a missile still on the drawing board scheduled for deployment by 2020, a version of the SM-3 called the Block IIB. It would intercept hostile missiles in the "early intercept" phase before an enemy missile could release its warheads and decoys. The Russians want the SM-3's secrets, and Obama appears to be willing to turn them over.
The president wants to save the New Start Treaty, which the Russians have threatened to abandon if we try to fully implement President Reagan's dream of defeating a nuclear missile attack.
Russia has unilaterally asserted that any qualitative or quantitative improvement in U.S. missile defenses would be grounds for withdrawal from the treaty.
Read More At Investor's Business Daily:
http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/010912-597158-obama-gives-russia-missile-defense-secrets.htm#ixzz3jXmMbVwY
Meanwhile in a underground mine some where in the center of America, heh, heh, heh, heh. Have we a surprise for you.
Do you really think the Russians are the only ones who play this game? Remember plan Orange? Nothing has changed.
I knew a guy when I was an aerospace engineer. He was a black program guy back in the 1950s.
He told me that he had proposed hitting strontium deposits inside the USSR with ground penetrating nukes in the event of all-out war in order to create a radioactive desert.
Phillip Wylie, who had been a nuke planner in the 1950s also wrote of underwater nuke mines loaded with sodium to create isotopes in one of his novels of thermonuclear war. IIRC, it was written in 1963.
Such options are fairly futile in a real war. The primary objective of a war has to be engaging the military assets of the enemy.
This idea of a high speed, deep diving, nuke torpedo is totally silly. First of all, it would give off an enormous acoustic signal that could be detected. Second, at great depth and pressure, nuke depth charges have enormous effect. Third, it has to rise towards the surface at the continental shelf. Fourth, the amount of nuclear material necessary for such a huge warhead would deplete the resources needed to build thousands of smaller, more effective warheads.
In short, this weapon is Sci Fi briefing charts.
Russia threatens nukes because their economy is so weak that they cannot offer a credible threat in any other area of military options.
If they had tried capitalism instead of oligarchy and kleptocracy, maybe they might be a larger threat.
"Obama was talking with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev when neither of them realized that their conversation was being picked up by microphones. Here is what they said:
Obama: "On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved, but it's important for him to give me space."
Medvedev: "Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you ..."
Obama: "This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility."
Medvedev: "I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir."
"This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility." That statement tells us much about the president's mindset.
The specific mention of missile defense is worrisome enough. Mr. Obama has retreated from the missile defense plan that was negotiated with European allies during the George W. Bush administration. Apparently, he is signaling Moscow that he intends to retreat further. The clear implication from the president's comments is that he cannot tell the American people before the election what he plans to do after the election.
In addition, there is the phrase "on all these issues," implying more is at stake than just missile defense."
Article: Obama plans double cross on missile defense
When it comes to keeping America safe, we shouldn't be too flexible:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/mar/29/obama-plans-double-cross-on-missile-defense/print/
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Until renegade NATO stops its insane provocations in attempting to arm former Warsaw Pact nations with ABM missile defense systems, Russia is going to be a bit tetchy. I don’t think anyone here knows who controls NATO.
I think it was “leaked” on purpose. What good is a sabre unless you can rattle it?
10,000 kilometer range and 100 knot speed is a bit hard to believe.
You always bring the new stuff on line before eliminating the old stuff.
Sorry, I’m not sure what you’re referring to.
We are so screwed.
"Since the treaty was launched, Russia has deployed 111 new nuclear warheads, bringing its total number of deployed warheads to 1,648. That treaty limit is 1,550 warheads - a number that must be reached in 2018."
To comply with the treaty by the specified date they'll retire the old stuff. The wouldn't retire it until it was replaced by upgraded new stuff.
also known as Democrat voter zones. Eh, we could lose a few. Let the coastal city slicker libtards "solve" their own problems. We know their success rate.
To comply with the treaty by the specified date they'll retire the old stuff. They wouldn't retire it until it was replaced by upgraded new stuff.
Why then has Obama cut our number of warheads by 250?
________________________________________
From the article...
"At the same time, U.S. nuclear warheads, missiles, and bombers have fallen sharply and remain below the required levels under the New START pact.
The United States during the same period of the Russian increases cut its deployed nuclear arsenal by 250 warheads. ..."
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