AsburySkinsFan Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Russia announces new multi-warhead missile Moscow claims ballistic weapon can penetrate any missile defense system Updated: 2:09 p.m. ET May 29, 2007 MOSCOW - Russia on Tuesday test-launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple independent warheads, and a top government official said it could penetrate any defense system, a news agency reported. The new missile would modernize Russia’s stockpile at a time of rising tensions with the West. The ICBM was fired from a mobile launcher at the Plesetsk launch site in northwestern Russia, and its test warhead landed on target about 3,400 miles away on the Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, a statement from the Russian Strategic Missile Forces said. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said Russia would continue to improve its nuclear weapons systems and respond to U.S. plans to deploy a missile defense system in Europe. First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said the ICBM, as well as a tactical cruise missile that also was tested Tuesday, can penetrate any missile defense system, Russian news agencies reported. “As of today, Russia has new (missiles) that are capable of overcoming any existing or future missile defense systems,” ITAR-Tass quoted Ivanov as saying. “So in terms of defense and security, Russian can look calmly to the country’s future.” Ivanov is a former defense minister seen as a potential candidate to succeed Putin in elections next year. Replaces aging fleet of weapons The ICBM, called the RS-24, is seen as eventually replacing the aging RS-18s and RS-20s that are the backbone of Russia’s missile forces, the statement said. Those missiles are known in the West as the SS-19 Stiletto and the SS-18 Satan. The statement said the RS-24 conforms with terms laid down in the START-I treaty and the 2002 Moscow Treaty, which calls for reductions in each country’s nuclear arsenal to 1,700-2,000 warheads. The RS-24 “strengthens the capability of the attack groups of the Strategic Missile Forces by surmounting anti-missile defense systems, at the same time strengthening the potential for nuclear deterrence,” the statement said. The statement did not specify how many warheads the missile can carry. Ivanov said the missile was a new version of the Topol-M, first known as the SS-27 in the West, but one that that can carry multiple independent warheads, ITAR-Tass reported. The first Topol-Ms were commissioned in 1997, but deployment has proceeded slower than planned because of a shortage of funds, and aging Soviet-built ballistic missiles remain the backbone of Russia’s nuclear forces. Existing Topol-M missiles are capable of hitting targets more than 6,000 miles away. Alexander Golts, a respected military analyst with the Yezhenedelny Zhurnal online publication, expressed surprise at the announcement. “It seems to be a brand new missile. It’s either a decoy or something that has been developed in complete secrecy,” he told The Associated Press. Analyst calls weapon ‘inevitable’ The new missile would probably be more capable of penetrating missile defense systems than previous models, according to Alexander Pikayev, a senior analyst at the Moscow-based Institute for World Economy and International Relations. He said its development was probably “inevitable” after the U.S. withdrew from the Soviet-era Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty in 2002 in order to deploy a national missile defense shield. Russia adamantly opposes U.S. efforts to deploy elements of a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. The United States says the system is aimed at blocking possible attacks by countries such as North Korea and Iran, but Russia says the system would destroy the strategic balance of forces in Europe. Russia’s military chief of staff has suggested repeatedly that Russia would regard elements of the system as potential targets. Asked about the controversy Tuesday at a news conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, Putin said, “We consider it harmful and dangerous to turn Europe into a powder keg.” Russia calls for treaty conference On Monday, Russia called for an emergency conference next month on a key Soviet-era arms control treaty that has been a source of increasing friction between Moscow and NATO. The call for a conference on the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty follows last month’s statement from Putin declaring a moratorium on observing Russia’s obligations under the treaty. The treaty, which limits the number of aircraft, tanks and other non-nuclear heavy weapons around Europe, was first signed in 1990 and then amended in 1999 to reflect changes since the Soviet breakup. Russia has ratified the amended version, but the United States and other NATO members have refused to do so until Moscow withdraws troops from the former Soviet republics of Moldova and Georgia — an issue Moscow says is unrelated. Putin warned that Russia could dump the treaty altogether if Western nations refuse to ratify its amended version, and the Foreign Ministry said Monday that it lodged a formal request for a conference among treaty signatories in Vienna, Austria, on June 12-15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenaa Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 As of today, Russia has new (missiles) that are capable of overcoming any existing or future missile defense systems That's a bit of a bold statement. I wish I could see into the future and know what technology will be available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raub Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 The Russians are afraid of becoming irrelevant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsair_joe Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 this can only end well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Amazing. The Russkies are going to fall for into the same trap Reagan laid for them. Spend money they don't have in an effort to keep up with us I love it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rincewind Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Mein Fueher! I can walk!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IONTOP Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 That's a bit of a bold statement. I wish I could see into the future and know what technology will be available. Maybe they meant MDS that are currently being developed and will be put in place in the future.... If not, I say we steal the Russian technology and apply it to... Missile Defense Systems so that they can be useful on any missile present and future... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmySmith Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Amazing. The Russkies are going to fall for into the same trap Reagan laid for them. Spend money they don't have in an effort to keep up with usIf you look at this throught the eyes of Putin, the former KGB officer, he would probably counter that the greatest era in Russian history was the cold war. Plus, the US has been dumping billions into a war, while Russia sits on the sidelines spending nothing, except on technology and infrastructure. Plus with Russia's new semi-capitalist society, and their vast natural resources starting to come online, it may not be possible to spend them under the table anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwasm Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Mein Fueher! I can walk!!! One of the greatest movies of all-time. Having said that, it honestly concerns me that Russia has all that firepower. Especially when you look at how the current administration handles war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexey Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 It's not surprise this administration handleled US-Russia relations as competently as everthing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterMP Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 If they've so easily developed a missle that will defeat any missile defense system, then they should be fine w/ us developing such a system since it won't affect their missiles at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sith lord Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I just laugh at all the people who are trying to downplay this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen-like Todd Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I just laugh at all the people who are trying to downplay this. I laugh at ridiculous professional wrestling sigs. At least I laugh at frivolous things, rather than WMDs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumrunner6900 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 So where did we put all that Cold War ****? I know it's around here somewhere.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacase Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 MIRV's have been around for a while. Nothing to see here move along.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helptheSKINS Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 The Russians always have and always will hate the US. They have watched US power rise while theirs fell. I think they are still very bitter about selling us Alaska for $7 mill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumrunner6900 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 MIRV's have been around for a while. Nothing to see here move along.... I was thinking that too...perhaps just newer and better? :whoknows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 MIRV's have been around for a while. Nothing to see here move along.... The fact that Russia is buidling new ones in response to Bush's nuclear policies is news, combine that with the rising tensions in Russia and increasingly tense relations between the US and Russia I am not as dismissive of this news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacase Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 The fact that Russia is buidling new ones in response to Bush's nuclear policies is news, combine that with the rising tensions in Russia and increasingly tense relations between the US and Russia I am not as dismissive of this news. Technology like this is not developed overnight. It probally has been in developement for 10+ years, so let's blame...I don't know....Clinton's policy's, yeah that sounds about right. There is no way they developed this in the past 6 years just becasue of the missile shield. There is a ton of research and developement into new weapon systems going on daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsair_joe Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 what are they going to do, nuke us? what good could that possibly do for them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raub Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I would take this with a grain of salt. I know Russians who insist that the Soviets had a anti-missile shield in place that would have defeated any nuclear attack on Moscow.....back in the early 1970's. :laugh: We still can't get it to work right, but they had it down pat over 30 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I have yet to quite figure out what Putin's long-term objective is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsair_joe Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I would take this with a grain of salt. I know Russians who insist that the Soviets had a anti-missile shield in place that would have defeated any nuclear attack on Moscow.....back in the early 1970's. :laugh: We still can't get it to work right, but they had it down pat over 30 years ago. just because they fielded a system and claimed it worked doesn't mean it actually did... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I have yet to quite figure out what Putin's long-term objective is. He wants to be president of the Soviet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Putin sucks. People here really cannot understand how much the Russians both fear us and admire us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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