I have been blogged about nuclear weapons recently. I wish I could say that the world is moving toward disarmament. Unfortunately, despite smaller nuclear arsenals in the U.S. and Russia than the U.S. and the Soviet Union maintained during the Cold War, it appears that nuclear arsenals are being upgraded and expanded. Russia has been very belligerent lately with references to their nuclear arsenal and veiled threats to use it.
Russia recently announced a new missile system called the RS-26 which it says will be deployed in two years. The RS-26 is a solid fuel missile. It has an advanced Multiple Independently Targeted Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) system that can launch multiple warheads. The RS-26 can be launched from a mobile launcher. It has been tested successfully three times. The Russian are fond of mobile launchers. They drive them around their national system of roads to make it difficult to target them. The U.S. Interstate highway system built in the 1950s in the U.S. was intended to provide the same sort of transportation network for mobile launchers. However, the idea of mobile launchers never really caught on in the U.S.
Anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems destabilize the Mutually Assured Destruction justification for the huge U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals. You cannot destroy your enemy if his ABM system takes out your retaliatory missiles. The Russian deputy prime minister of defense has stated that the RS-26 is "an ABM killer." He said, "Neither modern nor prospective American missile defenses will be able to prevent this missile from being able to hit the bull’s eye.” This is in keeping with increasingly belligerent remarks made by the Russians lately.
RS-26 on moblile launcher:
The Russians have announced that they have a new silo-based heavy ballistic Sarmat missile that will be deployed by 2020. The Sarmat weighs about a hundred tons and has a range of about thirty five hundred miles. The new missile will replace the current SS-18 Satan intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The Russians have also announced that they are building a railway missile system that they call Barguzin. The Soviet Union had a missile system based on railcars but the START treaty of 1991 outlawed the rail based system. A Russian official claims that the NEW START treaty of 2010 does not forbid the creation of a railway missile system. Barguzin will be more sophisticated and accurate than the old rail missile system and is expect to stay in service until 2040.
These developments are especially troubling in light of the Russian seizure of the Crimea. There have been public statements from Russian officials about the ability of NATO to engage in a war with Russia in Eastern Europe. Tallying up the forces on both sides, the Russians pointed out that they could deploy more men, tanks, artillery than NATO. They also mentioned that they could deploy tactical nuclear artillery if they were losing the fight. Russia has also expressed the intent to place nuclear weapons in the Crimea. Recently Russia has been flying Russian nuclear bombers off the coasts of other countries.
Of course, all these actions have increased calls for the expansion of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and delivery systems. Russia is experiencing severe economic difficulties because of crashing oil prices and international sanction over the seizure of the Crimea. It appears that they are trying to bolster Russia public support with warnings of external threats. This is a dangerous game to play in a world full of nuclear weapons. Hopefully, we can wind down the nuclear standoff before an accident destroys human civilization.
RS-26 missile: