US President Barack Obama, as evidenced by the Pentagon's Nuclear Policy Review, published on April 6, 2010, indicated a decline in the role of nuclear weapons in ensuring national security. It proclaimed that the United States will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have such weapons. Moreover, even if one of these countries decides to use chemical or biological weapons against the United States, its allies and friends. The response to such an attack, according to the Nuclear Posture Review, would be "a devastating conventional strike."
If you ask the question what prompted the current US administration to take such quite revolutionary steps in military strategy, then the answer to it is contained in the same Nuclear Policy Review. It argues that "the growth of unrivaled conventional US military capabilities, significant advances in missile defense and weakening Cold War rivalry … allow us to achieve our goals with significant reductions in nuclear forces and less reliance on nuclear weapons."
And it should be recognized that this statement of the developers of the Nuclear Policy Review corresponds to the reality. This was achieved by the purposeful military-technical policy of Washington to build up the power of the conventional potential of the American Armed Forces, which is being pursued after the end of the Cold War. Moreover, the stake is made on the massive equipping of troops and forces with high-precision weapons. This is the area of armaments in which the superiority of the United States is undeniable.
Taking into account the course taken by the Americans to reduce the nuclear factor in the global balance of forces, in the near future, we should expect a further increase in the Pentagon's efforts both to improve the weapons in service and to create new models of high-precision weapons (WTO) of various classes. Moreover, the resources required for these purposes will be found, since the Pentagon has cut back on nuclear weapons development programs.
It should be noted here that back in the early 2000s, the Pentagon curtailed work on reconnaissance and strike systems and now the priority direction of building up the conventional potential of the US Armed Forces is the practical implementation of the concept of "Conduct of hostilities in a single information and control space."
In accordance with the provisions of this concept, a special place is given to the creation of interconnected networks of command and control of means of destruction and reconnaissance at all stages of preparation and conduct of hostilities, which will ensure advance planning, a quick change in the configuration of a single reconnaissance and strike system and bringing information and control commands to the consumer, depending on the real situation. At the same time, the role of a backbone element in such a system will be played by a single data exchange network, providing in real or near real time distributed access and exchange of information between various means of reconnaissance, automated control and destruction. This will make it possible to form a single, dynamically changing picture of combat operations and, as a result, to flexibly and quickly carry out immediate and subsequent tasks.
The concept is being implemented simultaneously in two directions: the creation of advanced WTO systems and the latest means of information and reconnaissance support for its application.
The most important task is considered to increase the efficiency of the use of WTO by ensuring high accuracy of target designation and the promptness of bringing data to the carriers of WTO. In general, this requires high-precision digital three-dimensional maps of the terrain, reference coordinate images of targets (objects) obtained in different spectral ranges and translated into the required format, taking into account the types of reconnaissance and weapon guidance systems used. Work to expand such capabilities is carried out in stages by introducing the latest technological advances in the field of the latest information and reconnaissance, navigation support and communications, as well as their machine-to-machine interface.
The substantiation of the expediency of opening new programs for the acquisition of WTO, including the development of tactical and technical tasks and requirements for new models, are based on the provisions of the integrated development of the American Armed Forces. At the same time, the prospects of any type of WTO are considered from the standpoint of increasing the effectiveness of the actions of the united groupings of the armed forces, as well as deepening interconnections and interfacing with other, including heterogeneous, elements of the weapons system of these formations due to the introduction of new information technologies.
The further development of the WTO in the United States is aimed at creating a very wide range of new models in accordance with the changing views of the American military leadership on the forms of future military operations and methods of using weapons of warfare. At the same time, the following nine were identified as the main directions for the development of the WTO: - a significant improvement in the accuracy of fire (KVO - not worse than 1-3 m) due to the improvement of control systems, the use of promising homing devices, including multichannel ones, as well as ensuring network interaction of weapons with carriers, foreign intelligence systems of various bases and command posts;
- equipment of guided weapons, mainly cruise and guided missiles of various ranges and autonomous ammunition, with on-board equipment for advanced information exchange and communication systems, ensuring the simultaneous use of up to 1000 units of guided weapons;
- reduction of the reaction time for the use of weapons of destruction by increasing their flight speed (up to supersonic or hypersonic), as well as reducing the preparation time for flight missions;
- increasing the combat stability of weapons by expanding the ranges of altitudes and speeds of their combat use, significantly exceeding the area of destruction of modern interceptors, as well as ensuring the possibility of maneuvering in height, speed and direction of flight;
- a radical increase in the noise immunity of the on-board equipment of control and guidance systems, the reliability of detection, the reliability of recognition and classification of targets in a difficult jamming environment and meteorological conditions;
- ensuring the possibility of retargeting, changing the flight mission and conducting reconnaissance along the flight route, as well as assessing the damage inflicted on the enemy;
- ensuring the selective effect of the damaging factors of the weapon on the most vulnerable or important areas of the target;
- a significant increase in the secrecy of the use of weapons by reducing the level of unmasking signs;
- a significant reduction in the purchase cost of promising weapons due to the widespread use of modern technologies for automating production processes.
The above measures have already been partially implemented in a number of production models of American guided weapons. Thus, the new air and sea-based cruise missiles Tactical Tomahok and JASSM ER entering service with the US Air Force and Navy are equipped with combined control and guidance systems that provide high accuracy characteristics and the ability to retarget in flight.
In accordance with the approved for 2010-2015. the program for the creation of a WTO, priority at the present stage is given to the improvement of existing and the development of new aviation high-precision weapons.
A deep modernization of the AGM-158A air-to-ground guided missile (UR) produced since 2005 (developed by the Lockheed-Martin company) is underway. This missile is part of the armament of tactical fighters and strategic bombers. It is designed to engage priority ground and surface targets, as well as key elements of the enemy's military and industrial infrastructure. Its launch weight is 1020 kg, the mass of the penetrating warhead is 430 kg, the maximum firing range is 500 km, the flight time at the maximum range is no more than 30 minutes, the guidance accuracy (CEP) is no worse than 3 m, the shelf life without routine maintenance is up to 20 years.
The basis of the on-board equipment of the AGM-158A UR, the glider of which is made using the stealth technology, is made up of an inertial control system coupled with the Navstar space radio navigation system (RNS) receiver, a thermal imaging homing head and a telemetric control transmitter, according to which the current coordinates of the rocket are tracked until the moment of detonation. To aim the missile at the target, algorithms are used for the correlation comparison of the image of the detected object (targeting area) obtained in the IR range with the reference signatures available in the memory of the onboard computer, which also makes it possible to automatically select the optimal aiming point. within the framework of the JASSM ER program, a sample of this missile is the UR AGM-158V with a maximum firing range of up to 1300 km. This sample is made with the preservation of weight and dimensions (launch weight and warhead weight) of the base rocket. At the same time, its layout was optimized, due to which the fuel reserve was increased, and a more economical by-pass turbojet engine was installed instead of the previous single-circuit one. The level of unification of the main elements of the UR AGM-158A and the UR AGM-158V is estimated at more than 80%.
The total cost of the program, which provides for the supply of 4900 missiles to the US Air Force and Aviation (2400 AGM-158A missiles and 2500 AGM-158V missiles), is estimated at $ 5.8 billion.
The further development of this missile provides for a phased increase in its combat effectiveness through the use of more modern technologies and the use of new design solutions. The main goal is to provide the possibility of automated correction of the inertial control system based on continuous updating of target designation data from various external sources in real time, which is believed to allow hitting mobile ground and surface targets without the use of expensive homing systems, as well as re-targeting the missile at flight. These tasks will be performed thanks to the interaction through the unified data transmission network of the onboard guidance system of the missile, the carrier aircraft and the reconnaissance and control aircraft of the Jistars system.
As an alternative to the modernization of the AGM-158A missile launcher, Raytheon proactively stepped up work on the creation of the JSOW-ER missile based on the Jaysou AGM-154 guided aviation cluster, which is part of the armament of strategic bombers and tactical fighters of the US Air Force and Aviation. Based on the variant of the AGM-154S-1 cassette (maximum flight range up to 115 km, the warhead is a tandem cumulative-penetrating warhead). Its on-board equipment is a combined control system, which includes an inertial control system with correction according to the Navstar spacecraft radar system, a thermal imaging homing head (similar to that used on the AGM-158A missile launcher) and two-way data transmission equipment “Link-16”, which provides the ability to retarget ammunition in flight.
According to the developer, the estimated firing range of the JSOW-ER missile launcher will be at least 500 km. Flight tests of this missile began in 2009.
To ensure selective destruction of small-sized stationary and mobile targets, including those located in populated areas, American firms are developing new small-size high-precision guided air bombs (UAB) of the Sdb series.
The already developed model of small-sized UABs of the SDB series is the UAB GBU-39 / V (developed by Boeing as part of the first stage of the SDB program - Increment 1). This 285-pound UAB (total mass - 120 kg, explosive mass - 25 kg) is designed to engage stationary ground targets at ranges up to 100 km. It is designed as a unitary ammunition equipped with a wing and aerodynamic rudders. The basis of its on-board equipment is an inertial control system with correction according to the data of the Navstar spacecraft radar station, which ensures the guidance accuracy (KVO) not worse than 3 m.
The GBU-39 / B air bombs were adopted by the US Air Force in 2007. They are part of the armament of combat aircraft of tactical and strategic aviation, can be used both from the internal weapons compartments and from the external pylons of aircraft, and provide penetration of reinforced concrete floors with a thickness of up to 2 m.
In total, the US Air Force expects to purchase over 13 thousand UAB GBU-39 / V. The US Air Force continues to implement the second stage of the "SDB" program - "Increment 2", aimed at ensuring a more high-precision (KVO not worse than 1.5 m) destruction of mobile ground and surface targets by such bombs in any conditions of a combat situation. It is planned to achieve this by equipping the UAB with a combined homing head and equipment for data exchange with carrier aircraft, reconnaissance systems of various bases and command posts, which ensures the re-targeting of the bomb along the flight path.
In addition, on a competitive basis, Boeing, Lockheed-Martin and Raytheon are implementing projects to create more advanced small-sized UABs. The joint project of Boeing and Lockheed Martin involves the development of a new UAB GBU-40 / B, and the Raytheon project - the development of a new GBU-53 layout. The completion of competitive demonstration tests of these UABs is expected in 2010, and serial production is planned to begin in 2012.
As expected, the use of new small-sized UABs will significantly increase the combat effectiveness of attack aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles due to a significant (6-12 times) increase in the number of bombs on board.
Great importance is also attached to the development of autonomous high-precision aviation ammunition under the Dominator program. Research into the creation of such weapons has been conducted since 2003 by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the US Department of Defense, the US Air Force and on a competitive basis by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The purpose of the work is to create effective aircraft weapons that are universal in terms of carriers, the characteristic features of which will be:
- the possibility of using from external suspensions and from internal compartments of weapons of attack aircraft, including unmanned aerial vehicles;
- significant flight range when striking on a call or a patrol period (more than a day) in a designated area;
- an expanded composition of onboard equipment, including aiming and homing systems developed using microelectromachine technologies and providing detection, identification of specified targets with the transfer of data about them and subsequent high-precision defeat in a completely autonomous mode in any conditions of a combat and meteorological situation;
- the presence of a block of several small-sized warheads, allowing for sequential or simultaneous attacks on pre-planned or newly identified targets with different degrees of protection;
- the ability to perform refueling in the air in automatic mode;
- relatively low cost (no more than $ 100,000 per unit).
The Lockheed-Martin company has created a demonstration model of the Topcover aviation ammunition (launch weight - 200 kg, total mass of warheads - 30 kg, flight duration at an altitude of 1800 m - more than 24 hours). It is made according to the aerodynamic "duck" design with a drop-down swept-back wing, equipped with a small-sized by-pass turbojet engine and a retractable rod for refueling in the air. The basis of the on-board radio-electronic equipment of this ammunition is an inertial control system with correction according to the Navstar spacecraft radar, a radar station with a moving target selection mode, optoelectronic equipment, as well as small-sized equipment for a real-time data exchange system with command posts of ground, air or sea-based …
The design difference of the experimental model of aviation ammunition created by Boeing with similar weight and dimensions and the construction of onboard equipment is the use of a highly economical piston engine with a pushing propeller and a telescopic wing with a twofold increase in its span when the aircraft goes into patrol mode.
Based on the results of competitive flight tests of these ammunition samples, a contractor will be selected in 2010 to carry out further full-scale development of autonomous high-precision aviation ammunition. It is expected to be put into service in 2015.
To ensure the destruction of remote targets with high reliability, the development of long-range supersonic and hypersonic guided air-to-ground and ship-to-shore missiles is underway. This work is carried out within the framework of the ARRMD (Affordable Rapid Response Missile Demonstrator) program initiated by DARPA.
This program imposed increased tactical and technical requirements for the development of missiles: a wide range of firing range (from 300 to 1500 km); short flight time to the target, significantly reducing the rate of obsolescence of target designation data; low vulnerability to existing and future air and missile defense systems; high lethality; extended capabilities for the destruction of time-critical mobile targets, as well as highly protected stationary objects. At the same time, the mass and size characteristics and layout of these missiles should ensure their placement on strategic bombers, tactical fighters and warships, use both from the internal weapons compartments and from the external pylons of aircraft, as well as from launchers, including vertical launch, surface ships and submarines.
The main advantages of this weapon in comparison with the existing American air-launched cruise missiles, for example, the AGM-86B, are a sevenfold (up to 12 minutes) decrease in flight time for a range of 1400 km and an eightfold increase in the kinetic energy of a penetrating warhead with a similar launch weight and geometric dimensions. …
The Kh-51A hypersonic guided missile is in the flight test stage, the airframe of which with a tungsten nose end is made of titanium and aluminum alloys and covered with an ablative thermal protective layer. The launch mass of the rocket is 1100 kg, the mass of the warhead is 110 kg, the firing range is up to 1200 km, the maximum flight speed is over 2400 m / s at altitudes of 27-30 km (corresponds to the numbers M = 7, 5-8). Such a high flight speed is ensured by the installation in the airframe of a hypersonic ramjet engine (scramjet engine), which uses thermostable aviation kerosene JP-7 as fuel. The entry of the Kh-51A missile into service is possible after 2015.
Under the ARRMD program, a demonstration model of another hypersonic guided missile "Highfly" was also developed (the estimated maximum firing range is 1100 km, the flight speed is 1960 m / s, which corresponds to the number M = 6.5 at an altitude of 30 km). But this project lost the competition. True, now the US Department of the Navy is deciding on the possibility of using the scientific and technological groundwork obtained during the development of the Highfly rocket to create a specialized ship-to-shore missile system under the HyStrike program (Hypersonic Strike).
Along with work in the highest priority area of hypersonic guided weapons with scramjet engines, research has begun on the creation of supersonic guided missiles equipped with advanced turbojet engines (TRJ) and possessing qualitatively new characteristics, primarily wide possibilities of maneuvering in altitude and flight speed. This research is carried out as part of the RATTLRS (Revolutionary Approach To Time - Critical Long Range Strike) demo program.
The general requirements for this type of UR are set: the maximum flight speed is not less than the number M = 4, 5; maximum firing range 700-900 km; the possibility of combat use from external suspensions of tactical fighters and internal weapon compartments of strategic bombers, from vertical launch systems of surface ships and launch tubes of submarines.
Based on the results of a competitive assessment of a number of projects, a sample of the Lockheed-Martin SD was selected for further development. This rocket has a tailless aerodynamic design with a cylindrical body. In the opinion of the developers, such a scheme is most preferable to ensure good aerodynamic characteristics in a wide range of flight speeds, and is also distinguished by increased strength and reliability due to the reduction in the number of aerodynamic surfaces that are deployed after the start.
According to estimates, the use of a high-speed turbojet engine in the power plant of a rocket with an extended range of operating modes (thrust changes), in contrast to samples of rocket weapons with single-mode engines, will significantly increase the number of options for typical flight profiles, as well as methods of attacking targets. The high supersonic cruising speed of the missile and its maneuverable characteristics will ensure its comparatively low vulnerability to interception by modern and promising air and missile defense systems.
Flight tests presented by Lockheed-Martin, a demonstration UR with a turbojet engine, are scheduled to be completed in 2010. Based on their results and after completing improvements to eliminate the deficiencies that have already appeared, a decision will be made on the full-scale development of a supersonic UR with a turbojet engine. The start of deliveries of serial missiles is possible in 2015-2016.
Another direction in the field of creating fundamentally new long-range strike systems is the development of a strategic strike aerospace complex under the FALCON program (Force Application and Launch from the Continental US). This complex, which will include a hypersonic aircraft (HVA) and a universal delivery vehicle for advanced guided air-to-ground weapons, is designed to destroy ground and surface targets from the continental United States anywhere in the world.
In the course of preliminary studies, which have been carried out since 2004, the HCV (Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle) project developed by the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory was chosen as the base model of the GLA. This GLA is made according to the "wave flight" scheme, its design cruising flight speed corresponds to the numbers M> 10 at an altitude of 40 km, the combat radius of action is 16600 km, the mass of the payload is up to 5400 kg, the reaction time (from takeoff to striking the target) - less than 2 hours. The GLA is supposed to be based on airfields with a runway of at least 3000 m.
To reduce the weight and size parameters to acceptable values, the flight of the GLA with a power plant in the form of a hypersonic turboprojet engine running on hydrogen fuel will be carried out along the so-called "periodic" trajectory, more than 60% of which passes outside the atmosphere. This will significantly reduce the weight of the onboard fuel reserve and structural elements of thermal protection.
Compared to existing strategic bombers, the combat effectiveness of such an attack GLA is estimated to be 10 times higher, despite a twofold increase in operating and maintenance costs, which is caused by technical difficulties in the production, storage and refueling of hydrogen fuel. The adoption of the GLA is to be expected after 2015.
According to the project, the universal delivery vehicle CAV (Common Aero Vehicle) of promising guided weapons of the "air-to-ground" class will be a highly maneuverable controlled gliding (without a power plant) apparatus. When dropped from a carrier at hypersonic speed, it will be able to deliver various combat loads weighing up to 500 kg to a target at a distance of about 16,000 km. It is believed that the height of the trajectory and high flight speed, along with the ability to perform aerodynamic maneuvers, will provide sufficient combat resistance against enemy air and missile defense. The device will be controlled by an inertial control system, corrected according to the Navstar spacecraft and missile radar system data and ensuring the guidance accuracy (KVO) not worse than 3 m. time with different control points. The destruction of stationary highly protected (buried) targets will be ensured by the use of a penetrating warhead of 1000 pounds at a target speed of up to 1200 m / s, and area and linear targets, including equipment on the march, positions of mobile ballistic missile launchers, etc., - cluster warheads of various types.
Taking into account the high level of technological risks, conceptual studies of a number of variants of experimental samples of the delivery vehicle and its carrier were carried out with an assessment of the characteristics of maneuverability and controllability.
As part of this stage, several hypersonic HTV (Hypersonic Test Vehicle) models were created for ground and flight tests with an assessment of their flight performance, the effectiveness of flight control methods and thermal loading at speeds corresponding to the numbers M = 10.
The initial model HTV-1, which had a biconical body made of carbon-carbon composite material, did not confirm the specified characteristics of maneuverability and control, and further research on this layout of the delivery vehicle was discontinued in 2007. At the same time, the obtained scientific and technological groundwork, such as design solutions, aerodynamic layout, control system and others, can be used in the development of an adjustable non-nuclear warhead of the Minuteman-3 ICBM ).
Currently, the ground testing phase of the more advanced hypersonic model HTV-2 has been completed. Its supporting body is an integrated circuit with sharp leading edges and is made of the same carbon-carbon composite material that was used in the manufacture of the HTV-1 model. It is assumed that such a layout will provide a given range of hypersonic planning (in a straight flight of at least 16,000 km), as well as characteristics of maneuverability and controllability at a level sufficient for targeting with the required accuracy.
In total, it is planned to conduct two launches of the HTV-2 hypersonic model, which will be carried out using a Minotaur-type launch vehicle from Vandenberg airbase (California) to the area of the Kwajalein Atoll missile range (Marshall Islands, Pacific Ocean). The first of these launches is scheduled for 2010. If the results of the launches of the HTV-2 hypersonic model are successful, the Lockheed-Martin development company will begin to create an experimental model of the CAV universal delivery vehicle with the planned completion date for development work in 2015.
As for the carrier of the universal delivery vehicle, it is supposed to use a relatively inexpensive ballistic missile SLV (Small Launch Vehicle). Works on its creation are carried out on a competitive basis by Space Ex, Air Launch, Lockheed Martin, Microcosm and Orbital Science. The most promising project is Orbital Science. It is based on the already created Minotaur launch vehicle. It is a four-stage ballistic missile (launch weight - 35.2 tons, length - 20.5 m, maximum diameter - 1.68 m), the first and second stages of which are the corresponding stages of the Minuteman-2 ICBM, and the third and fourth - the second and third stages of the Pegasus launch vehicle. It is also important that the Minotaur rocket can be launched from retrofitted silo launchers of Minuteman ICBMs at the Western and Eastern missile ranges, as well as from cosmodromes on the Kodiak Islands (Alaska) and Wallops (Virginia).
But perhaps the most ambitious program in the field of creating a long-range WTO is the development of ballistic missiles with conventional equipment, carried out within the framework of the already mentioned concept of "Immediate Global Strike".
A comprehensive analysis of the risks and feasibility of implementing a number of projects in this area of weapons, carried out in 2009, allowed the Pentagon to determine by now the most promising developments.
Due to the high military-political risks of using non-nuclear-armed Trident-2 SLBMs (the flight path of such an SLBM is indistinguishable from the flight path of the Trident-2 SLBM with nuclear warheads), the Pentagon recognized that further work on the creation of such missiles, which was conducted on the private label project (Conventional Trident Modification). This political decision was made despite the fact that in the near future (until 2011) one could expect the development of the Trident-2 non-nuclear SLBM, equipped with high-precision guided warheads with kinetic warheads, to be completed.
As an alternative, the US National Academy of Sciences has proposed a project to create a non-nuclear missile based on a two-stage version of the Trident-2 SLBM. This proposal is based on the possibility of relatively inexpensive modification of the missile for non-nuclear combat equipment and the availability of technical groundwork in the field of creating heavy guided warheads. The strong point, according to American scientists, is also the easily identifiable difference between the flight trajectory of the two-stage Trident-2 missile from the trajectories of the existing three-stage missiles of this type in the nuclear ratio. In addition, this project is interesting for the possibility of its relatively quick development (4-5 years).
The design of the two-stage version of the Trident-2 SLBM makes it possible to use the space freed up under the rocket fairing due to the removal of the third stage and the propulsion system of the nuclear warhead disengagement system to accommodate one of three possible types of conventional combat equipment:
- guided penetrating warhead weighing 750 kg (estimated firing range up to 9000 km);
- a guided warhead with a heavy penetrator weighing 1500 kg (estimated firing range up to 7500 km);
- four guided warheads, each of which is in the body of a ballistic nuclear warhead Mk4 with a tail skirt (estimated firing range up to 9000 km).
At the same time, the US Department of the Navy is showing increased interest in the development of a non-nuclear medium-range sea-based ballistic missile. In accordance with the requirements of the Navy, such a missile should be two- or three-stage, have a firing range of about 4500 km, be equipped with a detachable guided warhead or several guided warheads and ensure the destruction of time-critical targets 15 minutes after launch. The diameter of the hull should not exceed 1 m, and the length of the rocket as a whole - 11 m. (These size requirements are due to the fact that the rocket being created can be placed in the launchers of existing submarines.)
Conceptual studies assessing the technical feasibility of such a missile, albeit with a firing range of up to 3500 km, were carried out in 2005-2008. As part of R&D for this rocket, prototypes of solid-propellant jet engines of the first and second stages were developed and tested. The created constructive and technological groundwork makes it possible to accelerate the development of a missile with a range of 4500 km.
The guided warhead for this missile is supposed to be created on the basis of technical solutions used in the 1980s in the development of the Mk500 guided nuclear warhead. In the body of this warhead, it is planned to place combat equipment weighing about 900 kg, which is considered to be guided aerial bombs of the JDAM series or BLU-108 / B ammunition.
American experts consider the latter version of equipment to be the most preferable. The BLU-108 / B ammunition (weight - 30 kg, length - 0.79 m, diameter - 0.13 m) is equipped with four self-aiming submunitions, as well as a radio altimeter, a solid-propellant engine and a parachute system. Each combat element includes infrared and laser sensors, a warhead operating on the principle of "shock core", as well as a power source and a self-destruction device.
Unlike homing systems, which operate on the principle of calculating and eliminating mismatches of the target-ammunition system through feedback by sending commands to the steering drives, the method of automatic aiming and triggering of the combat element is similar to the system of non-contact detonation of a directional warhead.
With sufficient funding, projects to create a two-stage version of the Trident-2 SLBM and a sea-launched medium-range ballistic missile equipped with conventional ammunition, according to American experts, can be implemented in 2014-2015.
With regard to the creation of ICBMs with non-nuclear equipment, it should be indicated that these works are in the initial stage. The US Air Force Center for Missile and Space Systems has proposed a plan for R&D and demonstration tests of individual elements and a prototype of a promising ICBM. The appearance of such missiles in the grouping of the US strategic offensive forces is possible no earlier than 2018.
The analysis of plans and practical measures for the development of American high-precision strike systems indicates that the increase in the quantitative and qualitative composition of the WTO is viewed by Washington as the most important factor in ensuring the implementation of its military-political interests in any region of the world and achieving superiority in military operations of various scales.
Considering that in the foreseeable future neither Russia nor China is able to compete with the United States in the WTO sphere, the global balance of power, without which strategic stability is unthinkable, can only be maintained through the possession of nuclear weapons by Russia and China. It seems that Washington is well aware of this too, and therefore is so actively advocating a reduction in the significance of the nuclear weapons factor, calling on the international community for complete nuclear disarmament, but keeping silent about the fact that they are unrestrainedly building up the power of their conventional military potential. There is an obvious desire for the United States to dominate the world arena when the factor of nuclear deterrence weakens.
Yes, undoubtedly, a world without nuclear weapons is the cherished dream of mankind. But, here it can be realized only when general and complete disarmament is achieved and conditions of equal security are created for all states. And nothing else. Calling on the international community to build a nuclear-free world, excluding conventional and especially high-precision weapons, as well as anti-missile defense, as Washington is currently practicing, is an empty PR undertaking driving the process of nuclear disarmament into a dead end.
