My last post discussed the activation of a U.S. Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense shield in Romania which is said to be intended to defend Europe from missiles launched from the Middle East, primarily Iran. In that post, I discussed concerns that Russia had about the possibility that the new missile shield could be aimed at stopping Russian missiles.
The 9K720 Iskander missile is a Russian mobile short-range ballistic missile. Iskander is the Russian version of Alexander, in reference to Alexander the Great. The missile is also known by NATO as the SS-26 Stone. The Iskander was developed to replace the Skud missile. It can carry a variety of warheads including a nuclear warheads over a range of about three hundred and seventy miles. It was first tested in 1996. The missile went into production in 2006. Russia has sold these missiles to a number of other countries.
It now appears that Russia is considering placing nuclear capable missiles in the Russian enclave of Kalingrad by 2019 as a response to the new U.S. systems in Romania and Poland. Kalingrad is a Russian province or oblast located on the coast between Lithuania and Poland. Russia has deployed Iskander missiles in Kalingrad several times as part of military exercises but have withdrawn them after the exercises were finished.
Russia was probably intending on permanently installing the missiles in Kalingrad whether or not the U.S. system went operational in Romania. Iskander sites in Kalingrad means that the Russians could attack the Baltic States and most of Poland. They have also mentioned the possibility of deploying these missiles in the Crimea.
There will be a NATO summit in Warsaw next month to discuss countering Russian annexation of the Crimea in 2014 and aggression in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. The U.S. , Britain and Germany have already announced that they intend to deploy four battalions of troops in Eastern Europe to serve as a "tripwire" in case of a Russian invasion. The Russians have said that Poland and Romania could be targets for Russian nuclear missiles because they are allowing U.S. missiles to be deployed on their soil. The Russians have said that they will wait until planned Polish ABMD sites open in 2018 to announce more serious retaliatory measures.
Tensions have been rising between Russia, NATO and the U.S. in the past several years over Russian aggression in Eastern Europe and military moves by NATO and the U.S. near the Russian border. Russia has been testing airspace and territorial waters of other countries with Russian nuclear bombers and nuclear submarines. The Russian Premier has remarked that Russia has superiority in tactical nuclear weapons over NATO in Eastern Europe. He has said that he would be prepared to use tactical nuclear weapons against NATO troops if Russia was being beaten in a conventional war in Eastern Europe. While it is possible that deployment of Iskander missiles to Kalingrad is inevitable, there are hopes that if tensions between Russia and the West can be reduced, Russia might be willing to give up deployment of the Iskanders to Kalingrad.
Iskander missile:
