Vlad Unveils the Death Star: Putin's super-weapons are a shield for the ruler of a collapsing state

American Thinker ^ | 04/17/2018 | J.R. Dunn

[SeekAndFind]

It's always interesting when two apparently unrelated elements of the political world collide to shed light on a third, also seemingly unrelated element. That's what happened last weekend during the missile strikes against Assad's nerve-gas network.

For the past several months, speculation has been rampant in political and military circles concerning new superweapons developed by the Russian Federation, presumably for use against its Main Enemy, the U.S.

Information on these systems did not emerge by accident or by means of intelligence efforts. It was intentionally released by the Russians themselves, for purposes that would not be immediately evident to anyone unfamiliar with recent Russian (which is to say "Soviet") history.

On March 1st, Vladimir Putin, in a fiery address leading up to the March 18th presidential election, unveiled what he claimed to be a "nuclear-powered cruise missile" capable of staying in the air indefinitely and eluding any form of interception. The announcement was accompanied by footage purporting to show a test of the missile, along with animation of how it could dodge anti-missile defenses. (It's difficult to grasp what these "defenses" are supposed to consist of – in the video, they appear to be balloons popping up out of nowhere in the middle of the Atlantic.)

At the same time, Putin also "announced" (it had "accidently" been revealed earlier in a Russian military documentary) an independently-guided nuclear-armed torpedo drone that could spend months underwater before setting off a 100-megaton warhead in the waters off a port city. The city would then be inundated by a radioactive tsunami that would destroy everything to the suburbs and beyond.

Obviously, a pair of weapons to make Dr. Strangelove get up and dance around the war room. (Putin also announced several other more conventional weapons.)

[Buckeye McFrog]

I’ve met a number of Russian expats.
Very sharp, impressive guys. To a man they say
they left because “unless you want to sink a hole
in the ground and look for oil, there is nothing
for you there.”

[FreedomNotSafety]

The young Russians know of the true brutalities suffered by their parents and grandparents under Communism. Russians know the possibilities of living in western style nation. They are free to travel and many of them do. The article stated “brutality” by Putin which is a big difference from “falling short” as you say.

What is it you think Putin is doing to ordinary Russians that qualifies as being “beaten”?

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"What is it you think Putin is doing to ordinary Russians that qualifies as being “beaten”?"

It's just a metaphor to say that under Putin they are not as bad off as the Russia of the 90's but still pretty bad off by our standards. Most Russians are very poor by western standards and do not travel that much outside the country. They don't know any better than what they have in their country. I daresay if they came to America and saw the abundance that is here, from grocery stores to shopping malls they would be amazed.

[Dick Vomer]

I don't want to come off as an apologist or admirer of Putin when I say that just maybe they didn't use "the good stuff" in Syria.

They could be lying (as all politicians do) about the capabilities of the S-400 Triumf air-defense system, but why would they waste it in Syria. The weapon system could be analyzed and capabilites could be determined if they used it and then what? The US is really good at figuring out how stuff works and then developing a method to destroy things.

I think if anybody wants to know how an air defense system works they might try doing something over the Baltics or a little flyover the Kamchatka Peninsula.

I just think poking the bear is fun till it gets p#ssed off. Then it gets messy.

[Krosan]

That Putin's superweapon video was also remarkable as the place they hit with it looked kind of like Florida. Russians said any similarity is accidental.

Here's a freeze frame from the video for those who want to check with their lying eyes.

[billakay]

The attack on April 13th went up against a 21st-century Russian superweapon–the S-400 Triumf air-defense system...

BS. The S-400s are or around Latakia, and tracked the incoming missiles, but did not attempt to destroy any. Russia did not claim to have destroyed any missiles, as they did not even ATTEMPT to destroy any missiles. On the other hand, according to both Syrian and Russian tracking, a reasonable number of missiles WERE destroyed by Syrian batteries, the most modern of which is the S-200.

Lets not perpetuate lies and propaganda here.

[billakay]

“...brutality toward the ordinary Russian...”. I have met plenty of ordinary Russians and have yet to meet the first one who has been “brutalized” by Putin. To the contrary most of them believe he is about as good as it gets for Russia and a farsight better than being ruled by the Communist.

I've been in Russia since May of last year, and as far as I can see, NO ONE is being "brutalized" by "Putin". On the other hand, the level of enthusiasm the people had towards the election was amazing (mostly for Putin, but it is worth noting that I know quote a few people who had no trouble sharing the other candidates they were supporting).

[billakay]

It's just a metaphor to say that under Putin they are not as bad off as the Russia of the 90's but still pretty bad off by our standards. Most Russians are very poor by western standards and do not travel that much outside the country. They don't know any better than what they have in their country. I daresay if they came to America and saw the abundance that is here, from grocery stores to shopping malls they would be amazed.

Have you ever been to Russia? Your comments sound like they are describing the Soviet era. MANY Russians travel "za gransita" (over the border), and I daresay that YOU would probably be amazed at the abundance and variety that is available here, in grocery stores and shopping malls.

Other than a few niche items (peanut butter is a great example, they don't know how to properly make it here), I can buy literally almost anything here that I can buy in the USA, and on the food side, the quality tends to be MUCH better.

[bmwcyle]

Just so there is no fighting in the war room.

[Justa]

I don’t believe any of the cruise missiles were destroyed. I’ve seen one Syrian video of a purported SAM intercept of a cruise missile but it was a miss. The SAM did not appear to acquire terminal homing. It flew straight up and detonated behind the missile which flew on. I.e., the ground base station detected the cruise missile and provided initial targeting information to the SAM. After launch the SAM could not acquire the target, flew a straight trajectory and detonated at the target’s altitude as programmed by the ground station.

But this was likely a Syrian S-300 system.

There may have been a gentleman’s agreement not to turn on S-400 targeting radars and not to attack S-400 sites.

[PapaBear3625]

And yet, last Friday, the epoch-making Triumf failed to let out so much as a peep as 105 cruise missiles trashed Bashar Assad's chemical warfare plants. Not a single SAM left the rack while the attack was proceeding.

It makes sense to expend expensive SAMs against $100M fighters. Against some old Tomahawks, it would be a bad trade.

[PapaBear3625]

I have met plenty of ordinary Russians and have yet to meet the first one who has been “brutalized” by Putin.

I think most ordinary Russians fear chaos and economic collapse far more than they fear getting on Putin's bad side. That's why Putin is so popular.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"MANY Russians travel "za gransita" (over the border)"

You are right, a lot travel over the border to Ukraine and some have come back in body bags but Putin has been denying any Russians "za granista" in Ukraine....

[billakay]

But this was likely a Syrian S-300 system.

Just a note, Syria doesn't have any S-300s. If you remember, there was an agreement to sell them some a few years back, and Russia decided not to after being asked by the international community

There may have been a gentleman’s agreement not to turn on S-400 targeting radars and not to attack S-400 sites.

I'm almost certain that the USA and Russia came to an agreement that Russia wouldn't shoot anything down with the S-400s. For one, if the S-400 is really as effective as they say, it would have been mighty embarrassing for us (the USA). There would definitely not be any targeting of any S-400 sites, as these are all Russian, and to target one would be an open act of war against the RF.

[billakay]

You are right, a lot travel over the border to Ukraine and some have come back in body bags but Putin has been denying any Russians "za granista" in Ukraine....

First, your flippant reply dismisses the point of my post, that Russians are not some kind of isolated people who have no idea what is beyond their borders. I would guess that proportionally, at least as many Russians have international passports as Americans do. The RF constitution gives the absolute right for Russian citizens to go and come as they please. It is very easy to meet people who travel to USA, Europe, Dubai, Asia, etc. as it is quite common.

Second, there are no regular Russian troops in Ukraine, and certainly no draftees. Putin has acknowledged that Russian citizens are active there, but this is likely a way of saying they are mercs (who are obviously volunteers), so I am not sure what is your point.

[Lurker]

“OK, so how does one explain that the Russian S-400 Triumf air-defense system did not work as they warned the USA it would?”

They didn’t turn it on. That’s how.

L

[Thibodeaux]

Russia has one group of export worthy products. That is weapons. To survive he must make and sell weapons to the likes of syria.

One wonders if the sale actually includes getting paid.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"First, your flippant reply dismisses the point of my post, that Russians are not some kind of isolated people who have no idea what is beyond their borders."

I understand your point, I was joking but also making a point. Their economic output does not measure up to the state of Texas, their average life expectancy as of 2015 is 8 years less than America, the average monthly income as of January 2016 in Russia was $216 US a month and inflation was somewhere between 12-15%. Also in that month the amount of unpaid wages to Russians reached 58.8 million dollars. This seems to be a normal thing in Russia where companies tell their workers, they don't have enough money to pay them.

Now, you can give us your viewpoint of what you have witnessed but statistics tell us a different story. The fact is that Russia is a petrol economy and without oil and natural gas they would not have much more economic output than poor African countries. Please name me the one product that Russia produces that everyone in America can't do without? That includes gas by the way, because we don't need theirs.

Stats show us that they are a third wolrd country with a first world military, nothing more...

[billakay]

One thing that you are missing is that things like life expectancy have been on a solid uptrend since the end of the Yeltsin era.

Economically, sure they have a ways to go, but the Russian picture has changed a lot in the past few years. For example, Russia is the worlds number one exporter of wheat. Other agribusiness like dairy is also growing tremendously. Also, since they have at least nominal domestic production of pretty much all the "necessities", it makes sense to look at GDP in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) which puts them sixth in the world. Your figures on inflation are also woefully outdated, as inflation is currently hovering around 2.5%.

Where I am living at the moment (Krasnodar Krai), all I see is economic activity. Import cars are replacing domestics more and more. Construction activity is off the charts, with homes and apartment buildings going up everywhere you look. Small business is literally everywhere. Sure, Russia isn't an export powerhouse (yet!), but internally, things are looking damn good. One thing is for sure: economically this country isn't dying, it is just getting started.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: They didn’t turn it on. That’s how.

Well so much for their threat to shoot down our missiles.