Recently, we often hear about medium-range missiles, especially from our "partners". What is their concern? After all, America is used to dictating its "democratic" principles to everyone.
Here we recall the words of our president that we have something to answer and respond very effectively. And the sanctions imposed on our country, and all the efforts aimed at isolating our country, lead to the conclusion: America is afraid of something.
So what did we have. Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Short-Range Missiles (INF Treaty), signed by Moscow and Washington on December 8, 1987. The parties to the agreement pledged not to produce, test or deploy ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles of medium range (from 1,000 to 5,500) and short (from 500 to 1,000 kilometers) range. In the process of implementing the INF Treaty, the USSR had to eliminate twice as many missiles as the United States (1846: 846), and almost three times as many launchers (825: 289). Our eliminated missiles could carry almost four times more nuclear warheads than the American ones (3154: 846).
For more than two decades, our country has done without ground-based intermediate and shorter-range ballistic missiles. Over the past time, the situation has changed significantly, and already six countries have ground-based medium-range missiles. Among them are China, Iran, North Korea, India, Israel, Pakistan.
There is no doubt that in the context of the deployment of a global missile defense system by the United States and the growth of medium-range threats, the potential for strategic nuclear forces will be insufficient for nuclear deterrence in all strategic directions.
Recently, the topic of the Mk-41 launchers, which the United States intends to deploy in Poland and Romania, as part of a "phased adaptive approach" to the deployment of a global missile defense system, has become increasingly relevant. These launchers are capable of launching medium-range cruise missiles, and their ground-based version can be viewed as a direct violation of the INF Treaty. This is how Moscow's claims were listed in the ministry (https://itar-tass.com/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/1351376).
What can we counter as an answer?
ICBM - R-26 "Frontier".
Little information. But the possibility of application is up to 5500 km. Dmitry Rogozin called Rubezh a “missile defense killer,” implying that its warheads are unable to intercept either the existing or future missile defense systems. As follows from the explanations of experts, the combat equipment of the RS-26 missile system, after separation from the missile itself, flies along an unpredictable trajectory. The on-board computer constantly changes course on a random basis. Can't intercept the missile.
Air defense and aerospace defense
Russia. SAM S-400 "Triumph" - (SAM) of a new generation. Designed to destroy all modern and promising means of aerospace attack - reconnaissance aircraft, strategic aircraft (including stealth aircraft) and tactical aviation, tactical, operational-tactical ballistic missiles, medium-range ballistic missiles, hypersonic targets, jammers, radar patrol and guidance aircraft, and others.
Note that the maximum speed of targets hit is 4800 m / s. Although there is already a S-500, or even a S-1000.
America. "Patriot" PAC-3. The maximum target speed is 2600 m / s.
The main performance characteristics of the MIM104 missiles:
- rocket weight - 912 kg;
- warhead weight - 24 kg;
- maximum range of intercepted targets - 80 km;
- the maximum height of the intercepted target - 24 km;
- the minimum distance for the destruction of targets - 3 km;
- the minimum height of a flying target is 60 meters.
Lack of the ABM regime. It needs a dedicated satellite in orbit. This satellite must inform the PATRIOT location station in advance of the rocket coordinates and its flight path. It takes a whopping 90 seconds.
The US missile defense satellite constellation is designed to track ICBM launches. It consists of eight Imeyus-2 spacecraft (DSP) and six SBIRS-Highs patrolling the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Oceans and the European zone. The technical characteristics of the satellites allow you to have a global coverage area in longitude and latitude. The time of receipt of information is no more than two minutes after the detection of the launch of a ballistic missile.
The advertised THAAD + "Arrow-3" is a mobile ground-based anti-missile system for high-altitude transatmospheric interception of medium-range missiles.
Aegis combat system is an American shipborne multifunctional combat information and control system (BIUS), which is an integrated network of shipborne means of lighting the situation, weapons, such as the Standard missile 3 (SM-3) anti-aircraft guided missiles. The deployment of sea-based and land-based SM-3 missiles in northern and southern Europe is planned to be completed by 2020, which, according to many Russian missile experts, may call into question the stability of the strategic nuclear forces in the European territory of Russia. And the question of the capabilities of the SM-3 rocket is still open. This could provoke a strong arms race in Europe.
The cost of the rocket ranges from $ 12-24 million. In total, the missile manufacturer has delivered more than 135 missiles, as of 2012.
There is little information about performance characteristics.
On February 21, 2008, the SM-3 rocket was launched from the cruiser Lake Erie in the Pacific Ocean and three minutes after the launch hit the USA-193 emergency reconnaissance satellite located at an altitude of 247 kilometers, moving at a speed of 7,580 m / s (27,300 km / h). Some sources believe that the fact of destroying a target moving along an unchanged and previously known trajectory does not speak of the actual capabilities of this system and the SM-3 Block 1B missile (https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM-3).
Most likely, it cannot work on low flying targets.
This is where the question of the effectiveness of the American missile defense system in the Kyrgyz Republic arises with a speed of more than 2-4M. And a lot of money has already been thrown in.
Aviation. Boris Obnosov, General Director of the Tactical Missile Armament Corporation, said that in 2016 the Russian army will receive the latest modification of an aircraft missile for the Russian fifth generation fighter (PAK FA), ITAR-TASS reports.
He clarified that we are talking about the latest modification of the aircraft cruise missile - the Kh-74M2.
Boris Obnosov, General Director of the Tactical Missile Armament Corporation (KTRV): At present, the Russian-Indian BrahMos missile is considered the fastest cruise missile in the world. Its updated sample can reach speeds of 7-8 speeds of sound.
Now the missile is capable of hitting ground targets at a height of up to 10 meters. The maximum flight range along the combined trajectory is 290 km, at low-altitude - 120 km. On the cruising section, the maximum flight height reaches 14 km at a speed of 2, 5-2, 8M. The missiles of the ship complex have a warhead weighing 200 kg, while the version launched from a fighter (BrahMos A) can carry a 300 kg warhead. The flight altitude in the final section is 10-15 m. Apparently, a breakthrough has been achieved in increasing the launch range to the target.
