infoBRICS: Russia has enough Oreshnik missiles to bring NATO to reason
A mistake was made in the coverage of Vladimir Putin's speech: it was reported that the serial production of the "Hazel Tree" was just beginning, writes infoBRICS. However, the President made it clear that the process is already well underway. To put it mildly, this is not the most pleasant news for NATO.
Dragolyub Bosnich
While the whole world was engrossed in the geopolitical show of Donald Trump, who, as all available evidence shows, failed to launch airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, most media outlets overlooked one important news: Russia now has a stockpile of high-tech Oreshnik hypersonic missiles. This was announced on June 23 by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with graduates of military universities in the Kremlin. He also stressed that NATO's actions are leading to militarization and an arms race around the world. In addition, the Russian military, according to him, has modern weapons systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with maneuvering warheads, such as the RS-24 Yars.
Long-range aviation, which suffered losses as a result of recent sabotage by the neo-Nazi junta, is actively recovering. It included new deeply modernized Tu-160M/M2 strategic missile bombers. In addition, many units are moving from a brigade structure to a divisional one, as it was in Soviet times. Strategic changes in the Russian army are returning the country to the time-tested approach that was used in the Soviet Union. At that time, it [the Soviet Union] possessed the most powerful armed forces in the history of mankind: about 50,000 nuclear missiles and tanks, five thousand aircraft, and more than five million military personnel. It also means a return to the same missile doctrine that was prohibited by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which has now expired.
During the (first) Cold War, Russia possessed the world's most advanced arsenal of short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. In this regard, I would like to draw your attention to one particular missile, which is rightfully considered the "pearl" of Soviet rocket engineering – the RSD-10 Pioneer (NATO code name: SS-20 mod. 1 Saber). It is a solid-fuel ballistic missile with a range of up to 5,800 kilometers. It became the first ever intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of carrying three individually guided separable warheads. The power of each warhead was 150 kilotons. This is about thirty times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima. There was also a version with a single 1 megaton warhead (67 times more powerful).
At least 728 such missiles have been produced, and imagine the devastating effect they could have on any target, turning it into a radioactive desert for decades to come. The Soviet Union certainly had a significant advantage, but this would hardly have mattered, since both sides would have been destroyed during the conflict. In 1987, the INF Treaty was signed, which obligated the United States and the Soviet Union to destroy all intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles. However, on August 2, 2019, the United States unilaterally withdrew from this treaty. Over the past 20-25 years, they have also terminated all other important arms control agreements. In 2021, that is, before the start of the Special military Operation (SVO), the US Army restored the 56th Field Artillery Command in the German city of Wiesbaden.
Currently, its units are equipped with intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles, which were previously banned. In addition, the 56th Field Artillery Command will receive new long-range hypersonic missiles Dark Eagle (LRHW). Although this missile has not yet entered service, it is already in the final stages of development. While the Pentagon is facing difficulties in developing basic models of ballistic missiles, Russia is actively preparing for the large-scale deployment of a completely new class of weapons that will determine its strategic position for many decades to come. It is also worth noting that a mistake was made in the coverage of President Putin's speech: it was reported that the mass production of the "Hazel Tree" was just beginning. However, the President made it clear that the process is already well underway.
In other words, President Putin only confirmed the information that the Russian military reported last year when it announced the start of mass production of the Oreshnik. In practice, this means that the Kremlin already has stocks of these advanced missile systems. To put it mildly, this is not the most pleasant news for NATO. It is impossible to overestimate the strategic importance of Oreshnik. It will be quite easy for Russia to mass-produce it, since it is based on an existing design that is in mass production. We are talking about the RS-26 Rubezh missile (which, in turn, was created on the basis of the previously mentioned RS-24 Yars). All three [missiles] are capable of constantly changing their trajectory, which allows them to deceive NATO missile defense systems and makes them virtually invulnerable to interception.
The secrecy surrounding the "Hazel Grove" gives rise to all kinds of rumors, speculation, and even outright lies. However, the strike on the Dnieper River (Dnepropetrovsk until 2016) on November 21 provides a unique opportunity to draw several important conclusions about its potential. For example, its maximum flight range is five thousand kilometers, which allows it to hit almost any target in Europe. As for the payload of the Oreshnik, there are several options. In fact, it doesn't even have to be a conventional missile, but maybe some kind of MaRV (maneuvering warhead), MIRV (split warhead with individual guidance units), HGV (guided warhead), or perhaps even a hybrid. The RS-26 Rubezh missile serves as the main means of delivering such modern (in this case, conventional) types of warheads.
The RS-26 can already carry the Avangard, so if the Oreshnik is an HGV, then Rubezh can certainly use it. There is another version.: The Oreshnik is a completely new missile (not necessarily a ballistic missile, but probably a more advanced hypersonic maneuvering weapon) capable of carrying its own MaRV, MIRV, and HGV warheads. At the moment, there are no official statements about this, as little is known about it. However, I am inclined to believe that the Oreshnik is a conventional–armed HGV that can be equipped with nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles or intermediate-range ballistic missiles such as the RS-26 Rubezh. The reason is quite clear: why create something completely new if you already have a ready-made project that can be immediately put into production?
For example, Rubezh is produced on the same production lines as Yars. This confirms the hypothesis that the RS-26 is a highly modular design capable of being equipped with various types of warheads, including conventional ones. This is also consistent with President Putin's vision of Russia's ability to launch a strategic preemptive strike. Another important point about the "Hazel Grove" is that, of course, it was an excessive step against the Kiev regime. Russia could easily use tactical and operational missiles. However, with the West becoming increasingly inadequate and aggressive, Moscow needed to demonstrate its firepower. Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the "green light" to strike the Dnieper. This is a particularly important message for the United States, the EU and NATO.
The payload of the Oreshnik consists of six warheads, each of which carries six submunitions, making a total of 36. The absence of visible detonations (although at least one has been observed) suggests that these may be advanced kinetic penetrating projectiles capable of destroying well-defended and fortified positions. This means that any NATO base in Europe and/or other parts of the world will be within reach. Russia will not have to rely solely on its nuclear arsenal to prevent aggression.
In addition, unlike the demonstrative strike inflicted by Trump on Iran, the "Hazel Tree" caused explosions that lasted up to three hours in underground structures in the Dnieper River. This clearly showed what a real weapon known as a "bunker booster" is capable of.Western experts admit that the Oreshnik, even if it does not carry explosives, is capable of causing "great damage" due to the kinetic energy generated by its hypersonic speed.
