On June 3, the Russian Ministry of Defense published a video of the next test launch of a promising domestic missile for strategic missile defense. The short video attracted the attention of specialists, amateurs of military equipment and the media. Russian missile defense work has always attracted the foreign press, and the latest launch was no exception. As a result, various publications reappeared with admiration, criticism and attempts to give an objective assessment.
On the eve of tests
An interesting, albeit controversial, material was published on May 26 by the Chinese Internet edition "Phoenix" (Ifeng.com). The main question was in the title: 俄罗斯 电子 工业 很 落后 ， 为何 俄军 反导 武器 如此 强大？ (“If Russia is lagging behind in electronics, why does it have such a powerful missile defense system?”) However, the “power” of the Russian missile defense system is being questioned.
The Chinese publication admits that Russia is creating highly effective anti-aircraft missile systems for air defense, but in the field of missile defense there is a lag behind foreign countries. It is argued that in this area the United States and the "main eastern countries" are ahead of Russia by 20 years.
Phoenix examines the composition and known characteristics of the Russian A-135 missile defense system. At the same time, the weaknesses of such a system are noted. So, until 2005, a short-range anti-missile 53Т6 and a long-range missile 51Т6 were on duty. After the latter was decommissioned, the potential of the A-135 decreased due to a drop in the maximum interception range.
An improved missile defense system called A-235 is still being tested. It includes the new 53T6M interceptor missile. This product has higher characteristics and is capable of carrying a non-nuclear warhead.
The Chinese edition indicates that Russia has not yet mastered the kinetic interception of ballistic targets. Currently, such interception methods are used in American projects and in Chinese systems of the Dongfeng family. Thus, according to Phoenix, Russia lags behind foreign countries by 20 years in the field of kinetic intercept missiles.
About a week after the publication in Phoenix, the Russian military conducted another launch of an interceptor missile at a conditional target. According to the Ministry of Defense, the rocket coped with the assigned tasks and showed the required characteristics. How these results compare to the assessments of the Chinese press is a big question.
American reaction
News from the Russian Ministry of Defense naturally attracted the attention of the American publication The National Interest. On June 8, it published an article "Watch Russia Test Out Its Very Own Missile Defense System". It examines the reports of the Russian media and draws interesting conclusions.
Although Russian official sources did not specify the type of missile tested, TNI suggests that it was a PRS-1M / 53T6M product. It is a modernized version of the older 53T6 missile from the A-135 complex. With reference to the Russian press, it is indicated that the PRS-1M is capable of reaching speeds of more than 3 km / s, hitting targets at altitudes up to 50 km, and also maneuver with an overload of up to 300 g. All this leads to a significant increase in the area of interception of targets and an increase in efficiency.
The Russia 24 TV channel claims that the 53T6M rocket has no analogues in the world, but TNI argues with this and reminds of an old American development. Back in the sixties, the Sprint anti-missile was created in the United States. The conical product left the launcher using compressed air and in 5 seconds developed a speed of M = 10, colliding with an overload of up to 100. A neutron warhead was used to destroy the warheads of the ICBM.
The Sprint missile was part of the Safeguard missile defense system and solved the problem of low-altitude interception. The complex also had a Spartan missile with a longer range and flight altitude. The Safeguard complex was deployed by the mid-seventies. A limited number of such systems were on duty at position areas with ICBMs. Later, the Safeguard complexes were removed from service. It turned out that a massive nuclear missile strike would easily penetrate such a defense, and missile defense with sufficient reliability would be extremely expensive and complex.
TNI reminds that this problem is still urgent. The American missile defense system is capable of dealing with several primitive North Korean ICBMs, but a salvo of hundreds of Russian missiles will be successful. The publication notes that the Russian PRS-1M interceptor missiles look impressive, but in the event of a conflict, they will have to face the same problems.
German fears
On June 10, the German edition of Stern reacted to the anti-missile tests - its article was titled "Start einer PRS-1M Rakete - Putins Abwehrschirm wird noch schneller" Like TNI, Stern assumes that the 53T6M / PRS-1M missile passed the tests and draws the appropriate conclusions.
Stern recalls that the PRS-1M is not capable of solving a wide range of tasks, as the S-400 or S-500 air defense systems do and cannot attack aircraft or cruise missiles. Such a weapon was created in the event of an atomic war. He will have to intercept enemy ICBMs, defending large Russian cities.
Considering the known characteristics of the 53T6M product, Stern calls it the fastest rocket in the world. It is especially noted that a hypersonic speed of up to 4 km / s develops already on takeoff, and not in planning, as in promising warheads. In terms of range and height, the PRS-1M surpasses its predecessors.
PRS-1M is called the “Doomsday weapon”. It can only be used in a war that can destroy the world. Unlike the Phoenix, Stern writes that the anti-missile missile does not carry a high-explosive fragmentation charge, but a nuclear warhead that poses a special threat. The detonation of several missiles at high altitude, ensuring the interception of the enemy's means of attack, will lead to catastrophic consequences for the atmosphere.
Having reviewed Russian missile defense systems, Stern draws attention to their American counterparts and how to deal with them. Since the United States withdrew from the ABM Treaty in 2002, Russia is striving to create promising weapons capable of breaking through American defenses. New hypersonic systems or the Poseidon underwater vehicle are being developed for this very purpose. In this context, Stern again recalls the PRS-1M. This rocket has a powerful engine that provides high acceleration during takeoff. It is quite possible that such a power plant will find application in new weapons projects.
Trials and their consequences
The Ministry of Defense regularly tests various components of the strategic missile defense system, but it is the launches of interceptor missiles that traditionally attract the most attention. This is probably due to both the special role of such weapons and a very effective launch - the military department regularly publishes video footage of such events.
To date, several test launches of the upgraded 53T6M / PRS-1M rocket have been carried out, and almost all of them have ended in success. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense is in no hurry to clarify the current status of the project. When exactly the new anti-missile missiles from the A-235 complex will take up combat duty is unknown. Other details of the work remain undisclosed.
However, the lack of some of the most important information does not affect the interest of the foreign media. Any news about anti-missile testing or other ways of developing the Russian missile defense system becomes a reason for the appearance of new publications in the foreign press.
On the basis of available information, foreign publications are trying to determine the real potential of promising systems and give them a general assessment. Their conclusions differ markedly from each other. Some publications believe that Russia has lagged behind foreign countries in the field of anti-missiles, while others fear the use of such technologies in other projects. Also mentioned are the problems of missile defense systems present at the level of the general concept.
It should be noted that the actual background and reason for new publications in the press is the continuation of work in Russia. Ignoring foreign assessments and assumptions, enterprises and the Ministry of Defense continue to test and improve interceptor missiles and other components of the missile defense system. Among other things, this means that in the future new results will be obtained - which will immediately become the reason for the next wave of publications.
