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Russia to Enhance the Iskander Missile Range, as a Reciprocal Response to the US Cruise Missile Testing

August 25, 2019

 

Iskander missile launchers on the move and during military drills, file, August 25, 2019

 

Moscow vows reciprocal response after US test of previously banned missile. Here’s what it could be

Russia TV, 25 Aug, 2019 09:22 

 Russia says it won’t sit idle after the US tested a missile that was banned by the INF. As a response, Moscow has an ace up its sleeves and it won’t need to enter into a Cold War-style arms race, military analysts have told RT.

No longer bound by the milestone Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) – which the US unilaterally scrapped – Washington recently tested a ground-launched version of its Tomahawk cruise missile.

On Friday, Russian president Vladimir Putin said he is not up for an all-out arms race, but ordered the military to evaluate and find reciprocal answers. So, what is Russia likely to have in store to counter the emerging threat?

Viktor Murakhovsky, a military analyst and retired army officer, reminds us that there was an array of weapons whose capabilities were deliberately curtailed to meet the requirements of the INF treaty, which banned missiles with ranges of 500-1,000km (short to medium-range) and 1,000–5,500km (intermediate range).

“[Russia’s] existing Iskander system, which has been in use with the rocket brigades of our Ground Troops, had a range limitation [under the treaty],” he told RT. Its range “was artificially reduced to under 500km –to 480km, to be precise– and now, when the shackles are gone, nothing prevents our weapons designers from reviving their technological groundwork.” 

That would essentially mean that the range of the projectile may be enhanced.

This is the cheapest, the most efficient and, at the same time, is an asymmetric solution.

Mikhail Khodarenok, a retired air defense forces colonel, says that Russia may also seek to restore the tactical missile units that had previously disbanded under the INF.

“For example, several front-line missile brigades armed with ground-based cruise missiles will be deployed ... and the whole thing won’t exceed the existing military budget,” he offered.

The military expert also believes Moscow may soon conduct a launch of a cruise missile similar to the Tomahawk. The likeliest candidate is the seaworthy Kalibr-NK, which has been already used in targeting terrorists in Syria.

On top of that “in the nearest future, Russia will unveil a new ground-launched cruise missile system,” he said.

Another option could be a Club system, which is normally disguised as a shipping container that can be placed on a truck, train, or merchant vessel which allows missiles to be moved and stored without raising suspicion. Like the Iskander, its range was decreased to 300km and its payload to 500kg due to arms treaty restrictions, Murakhovsky told RT.

If delivered to the Russian armed forces without limitations, its capabilities dramatically increase.

Combining top-notch weapons and some proven technology may also help. Here, Murakhovsky said, one can look back at an example of how Russia countered the US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) in 2002.

Moscow designed and adopted a single combat system, the hypersonic Avangard glider and “it is mounted on an old-fashioned Soviet missile, the UR-100 [also known as the RS-18A].”

That solution allowed Russia to “reset all US efforts put into ballistic missile systems such as THAAD or Aegis,” and the ratio between Russian and American investments were 1:1,000, according Murakhovsky.

https://www.rt.com/news/467180-inf-russian-response-missiles/

Russian Baltic Fleet simulates Iskander missile launches

Russia simulated launching Iskander tactical missiles in its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad amid rising tensions with NATO.

Editor: huaxia

MOSCOW, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) --

Russia's Baltic Fleet has simulated firing Iskander tactical missiles during recent drills in Kaliningrad Region, TASS news agency reported on Sunday.

Covered by Mi-24 attack helicopters and Su-30SM multirole fighters, the missile troops practiced loading launchers and conducting "electronic launches," TASS said, citing the press office of the fleet.

The missile units conquered contaminated land, various roadblocks and obstacles and practiced camouflage as well as radiation, chemical and biological protection, it said.

The drills involved about 100 personnel and around 20 items of military hardware.

The Baltic region is a hot spot for the rising tension between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Earlier this month, an F-18 aircraft of the NATO attempted to approach the plane carrying Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu over the neutral waters in the Baltic Sea, before it was chased off by two escorting Su-27 fighters.  

Putin orders reciprocal Russian response to U.S. missile test

By Andrew Osborn and Anton Kolodyazhnyy

MOSCOW (Reuters) -

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered a like-for-like response to a recent U.S. missile test, which he said showed that Washington aimed to deploy previously banned missiles around the world.

The Pentagon said on Monday it had tested a conventionally-configured cruise missile that hit its target after more than 500 km (310 miles) of flight, its first such test since the demise of a landmark nuclear pact this month.

Washington formally withdrew from the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) on Aug. 2 after accusing Moscow of violating it, a charge dismissed by the Kremlin.

The pact had prohibited land-based missiles with a range of 310-3,400 miles, reducing the ability of both countries to launch a nuclear strike at short notice.

Putin told his Security Council on Friday that Russia could not stand idly by, and that U.S. talk of deploying new missiles in the Asia-Pacific region "affects our core interests as it is close to Russia's borders".

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said this month he was in favor of placing ground-launched intermediate-range missiles in Asia relatively soon, and Putin complained this week that the United States was now in a position to deploy its new land-based missile in Romania and Poland.

"All this leaves no doubts that the real intention of the United States (in exiting the INF pact) was to ... untie its hands to deploy previously banned missiles in different regions of the world," said Putin.

"We have never wanted, do not want and will not be drawn into a costly, economically destructive arms race. That said, in the light of unfolding circumstances, I'm ordering the Defence Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and other appropriate agencies to analyze the threat to our country posed by U.S. actions, and to take exhaustive measures to prepare a reciprocal response."

Despite his order, Putin said Russia remained open to talks with the United States aimed at restoring trust and strengthening international security.

The United States has said it has no imminent plans to deploy new land-based missiles in Europe.

(Additional reporting by Anastasia Teterevleva and Maria Kiselyeva; Editing by Kevin Liffey) 

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