In early December, there were reports of new Russian successes in the field of weapons and military equipment. The foreign press published data on the testing of new Russian weapons, which in the future will defend the country. At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense, for some reason, has not yet commented on the reports of the foreign press and is in no hurry to confirm or deny the published data. Let's consider this situation in more detail.
The first report on the testing of a new weapon of Russian design was published by the American edition of The Washington Free Beacon on December 2. The author of the publication, Bill Gertz, received information about the new Russian project from his sources and published it in the material Russia Flight Tests Anti-Satellite Missile ("Russia has carried out a test launch of an anti-satellite missile"). As you can see from the title, the author touched upon the development of new means that will be used in the future in the field of missile defense. The subtitle of the publication notes that Russia is joining China in building its space defense capabilities.
At the very beginning of his article, B. Gertz claims that Russia has carried out the first successful test launch of a promising anti-satellite missile, which can be considered the beginning of a new stage in the militarization of outer space. According to the author, the launch of the rocket known as Nudol took place on 18 November. Information about these tests was obtained by the author from a source in the US military, which, however, was not named. The source also noted that this was the third test launch, but the first one ended with the successful implementation of plans.
Presumably, the launcher of the Nudol complex. Figure Bmpd.livejournal, com / Militaryrussia.ru
Further, the author recalls the projects of other countries. By launching the Nudol missile, Russia joins China, which is also developing special weapons to attack objects in outer space. So, in the last days of October, Chinese specialists launched the Dong Neng 3 rocket.
B. Gertz was unable to get comments from the Pentagon representatives. Because of this, he had to turn to earlier statements by military officials. The head of the US Air Force Space Command, General John Hayten, recently warned that Russia and China are currently working on new means of warfare in space, which could pose a serious threat to the American group of spacecraft. The general stated in plain text that the new developments of other countries directly affect the interests of the United States.
The author of the Free Beacon edition notes that at the moment there is very little information about the Nudol project in the public domain. However, he suggests that this development is being created as part of the construction and modernization of the missile defense system. From open sources, B. Gertz was able to find out that within the framework of the Nudol R&D project, a promising defense system against long-range missiles is being created, as well as a system for intercepting spacecraft. The project is being developed by the Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern.
General Hayten, in a recent speech, argued that he did not want to see the proliferation of conflicts in outer space. However, he noted that the United States must be able to protect itself from such threats. According to the general, currently several states of the world are working on promising projects of anti-satellite weapons. These are Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.
B. Gertz recalls the opinion of analysts that anti-satellite weapons pose a particular danger to the United States. With a small number of interceptor missiles, Russia or China could seriously damage US spacecraft-based reconnaissance, navigation or communications assets. As a result of such an operation, the work of military and civilian structures will be disrupted.
Immediately, the author quotes a congressman from the piece. Mike Pompeo's Kansas (Republican Party). In his opinion, testing of the Russian missile is a problem. He talks about serious political and military problems: while US President Barack Obama is trying to cut the military budget and improve relations with official Moscow, the Russian defense industry continues to develop its military systems designed to work in space. Such weapons, according to M. Pompeo, can render useless American cyber systems or promising kinetic interceptors.
The congressman urges not to turn a blind eye to this problem, but to start creating a response. It requires the development of defense systems that can prevent the destruction of satellites by interceptor missiles, as well as deprive a potential adversary of the possibility of using anti-satellite weapons for political blackmail.
The opinion of the former employee of the American military department Mark Schneider, who is also quoted by B. Gertz, is not distinguished by optimism either. The Russian tests, according to the former official, demonstrate the inability of the United States to effectively confront other countries in a hypothetical space war. M. Schneider believes that in the field of space weapons there is an abnormal bias towards potential adversaries. Over the past decades, Congress has banned the Pentagon from dealing with space weapons. As for the Russian industry, according to Schneider, it does not face such restrictions. Moreover, Russia, if it needs it, even violates international agreements on armaments.
Having considered the risks associated with the recent tests of the Russian interceptor missile, B. Gertz tried to collect information about the promising Nudol project. With reference to several Russian sources, he mentions that Russia is currently implementing a project to modernize its missile defense. So, he refers to a recent statement by the commander of the missile defense division of the 1st Air Defense and Missile Defense Army, Colonel Andrei Cheburin, who mentioned the modernization of existing systems. According to him, the troops should soon receive an updated missile defense system with the latest weapons.
Also B. Gertz tried to determine the approximate appearance of the promising system "Nudol". Probably, this system will be used to protect certain regions of Russia from ballistic missiles, as well as to attack enemy spacecraft. It is noted that the only known image of this system implies the ability to quickly transfer some of its components using self-propelled chassis. At the same time, however, B. Gertz expresses doubts about the full realization of the advantages associated with the use of the chassis. To detect targets, the complex will need an appropriate radar station, which should also be made mobile.
The author of the Free Beacon ends his article with a quote from officials and the latest news. B. Gertz was unable to get comment from the Department of State, but he recalled past statements by representatives of that department. Thus, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control Frank Rose in February of this year argued that the continued development of anti-satellite systems is a destabilizing factor, and in the long term threatens the security of the world and the safety of outer space.
Meanwhile, a strange event took place in orbit. On November 25, the NOAA 16 spacecraft, owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, collapsed in orbit. The cause of this accident is being investigated. The destruction of the device was discovered by specialists from the space command of the air force. Command spokesman Nick Mercurio said there were no foreign objects near NOAA 16 during the destruction. The wreckage of the device does not pose a danger to other satellites.
Of some interest is the fact that information about the first successful launch of an interceptor missile of the Nudol system appeared in the foreign press, and not in the domestic media. Apparently, the reason for this was the good connections of the foreign author with intelligence structures, which allowed B. Gertz to quickly get information about a promising Russian project.
If B. Gertz's sources provided him with the correct information, then we can talk about certain successes of the Russian defense industry. The existence of a project to modernize the existing missile defense system became known back in 2010. Now there is information about the first successful launch. However, the two previous launches were unsuccessful.
Most of the information about the Nudol project has not yet been disclosed. According to the available fragmentary data, the main task of the project is to create a promising interception system. It should include a new anti-missile missile with a launcher, as well as some auxiliary equipment, such as radar detection and guidance stations, etc. It can be assumed that the new anti-missile system will work as part of the existing complex and receive target designation from existing radars, such as the Don-2N. However, this requires a new interceptor missile and launcher.
In January 2015, the corporate calendar of the Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern was published, on one of the pages of which there was a drawing of a previously unknown missile system. Experts suggested that the figure depicts a launcher of a missile system created as part of the Nudol project. If this assumption is true, then in the foreseeable future, a six-axle self-propelled vehicle with a lifting launcher for transport and launch containers of missiles will be adopted. What other systems of the complex, including the rocket, may be, is unknown.
For obvious reasons, even the approximate characteristics of the Nudol complex are not yet subject to disclosure. Assumptions are made about the possibility of hitting ballistic targets at ranges of up to several hundred kilometers, but verification of such information at the moment is not possible. Type of rocket engines, guidance systems, etc. just as secret. The lack of detailed information about the project does not allow any conclusions to be drawn, although it is a good ground for forecasts and speculations.
The Russian military department and the defense industry have so far been in no hurry to publish details of the Nudol project. Because of this, in various discussions, a variety of assumptions of the most varied kinds are expressed, some of which in the end may turn out to be plausible. In addition, the general atmosphere of secrecy does not allow even to speak with confidence about the veracity of the information of The Washington Free Beacon. Nevertheless, this does not prevent foreign experts from trying to assess the risks associated with the emergence of a promising Russian anti-satellite system. In addition, they receive a kind of confirmation of their opinion regarding the need to implement certain projects.
In the current situation, against the background of the lack of full-fledged confirmed data, publications of the foreign press about Russian projects are of great interest, but it cannot be argued that their appearance is connected precisely with the work of our defense industry. The reason for their appearance may be the desire of foreign industry to receive orders for the implementation of new projects, which is why there are publications with "frightening" information. Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out that on November 18, the first successful launch of a promising Russian anti-missile missile was indeed carried out, and the new project is successfully moving towards successful completion, due to which new anti-missile defense systems will be adopted in the foreseeable future.
