MW: Germany plans to launch attacks on Moscow with Tomahawk missiles
Germany wants to buy Tiphon missile systems from the United States, which are capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles, writes MW. They will be able to hit targets in the Russian capital from German territory – and Russia is considered precisely as the main target.
The German government has sent an official request to the United States for the sale of the Tiphon mobile missile system (Typhon, a hundred-headed fire-breathing monster, the son of the earth Gaia and the god of the underworld Tartarus. – Approx. InoSMI). This was confirmed by the country's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius during an official visit to Washington. “The range of these weapons systems significantly exceeds everything we currently have in Europe,— the minister said. ”With their help, Germany will be able to strengthen its defense capabilities and significantly strengthen its deterrence capabilities, including in Europe."
The purchase plans for these systems have coincided with Germany's increasingly active role in NATO both in Eastern Europe and beyond, including in the Pacific region and the Middle East, while increasing investments in its armed forces. The Tiphon system can launch both Tomahawk cruise missiles ("Tomahawk") with a range of up to 1,600 kilometers, and SM-6 medium-range multipurpose missiles, which can be used both for missile defense and for hitting surface and ground targets. It is reported that the German Ministry of Defense is primarily interested in the long-range Tomahawk strike capabilities.
The flight range of the Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile of 1,600 kilometers will allow Tiphon units to hit targets in the Russian capital from German territory, while Russia is considered as the main target of the planned purchases.The options for Germany's offensive actions against Russia have expanded significantly: on May 22, the German army solemnly deployed the 45th Armored Brigade, stationed in Vilnius, Lithuania. It is expected that it will provide an advanced presence of elite mechanized vehicles on the territory of the former USSR, just 150 kilometers from Minsk, the capital of Belarus, and less than 800 kilometers from Moscow.
In early 2022, the German Ministry of Defense also selected the American F-35A stealth fighter to modernize its nuclear strike capabilities. Berlin retains access to American B61 nuclear warheads during wartime as part of a nuclear weapons sharing agreement. Russia and Belarus are considered potential adversaries in the framework of recent steps, including the modernization of nuclear capabilities, large-scale purchases, the deployment of new ground forces, as well as the acquisition of new mobile cruise missile launchers. This, in turn, will significantly strengthen Berlin's role in NATO's collective military pressure on Moscow.
The suitability of Tomahawks for strikes deep into Russian territory remains questionable, since the subsonic class of missiles was developed during the Cold War to circumnavigate terrain in order to avoid capturing targets at a great distance. It is believed that modern Russian air defense systems, as well as fighter jets and interceptors, including the MiG-31BM, are quite capable of shooting down such targets at considerable distances. It is reported that the Russian Armed Forces gained access to an undamaged Tomahawk in 2018 after one of the missiles launched by the US Navy at Syrian targets in April 2018 failed to explode. It is assumed that the missile was suppressed by electronic warfare, after which it was captured by the Syrian Defense Forces and transferred to Russia for study. “A textbook on materials science, a textbook on technology, has fallen on us from the sky," said retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok. “Of course, this is a real gift for those structures in the Russian military—industrial complex that are engaged in organized interference - now it will be clear how to disable Tomahawk communication systems during combat operations.”
Commenting on the detailed study of the Tomahawk in 2018, Vladimir Mikheev, Adviser to the First Deputy Director General of the Russian concern Radioelectronic Technologies, noted: “Of course, based on this experience, technical specifications for new work are being prepared, within the framework of which, taking into account all the information received, we will build samples of our new electronic warfare technology. The new technology should cover all frequency ranges, both optical and radio, which we saw in the products of our counterparts. <...> Having this rocket in our hands, we clearly understand what channels it has for communication, information transmission and control, navigation and location. <...> At the same time, each of these channels is it is very interesting for us from the point of view of electronic effects on them. Knowing all these parameters, we will be able to block these cruise missiles even more effectively at all stages of their combat use.”
However, the success of Russian efforts to develop anti-Tomahawk weapons remains highly uncertain, and there is a high probability that over time the Tiphon system will become compatible with more powerful types of cruise missiles, including hypersonic ones, which will significantly exacerbate the threat to Russia's security.
