The Belgorod nuclear submarine, used for the transfer of Poseidon nuclear unmanned underwater vehicles, was officially accepted into the Russian Navy
Russia has announced the transfer of the Belgorod nuclear submarine to the Navy. This is an important step by Moscow in opposing Washington, writes the People's Daily. It is the United States and its nuclear policy that are pushing Russia to strengthen its military potential for deterrence and counteraction.
The US nuclear policy encourages Russia to strengthen its deterrence and counteraction capabilities
In early July, the Belgorod nuclear submarine was officially handed over to the Russian Navy. The submarine was launched in April 2019 as the first carrier of Russian nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicles "Poseidon". The transfer was originally planned for 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the fact that in recent years Russia and the United States have generally reduced the scale of their nuclear weapons in accordance with the provisions of the new Treaty on Measures for Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START III), both sides still continue to modernize nuclear weapons. Only now it happens not at the expense of quantity, but at the expense of quality.
Abandonment of the old and development of new nuclear weapons
Over the past few years, the United States has taken a number of steps to modernize nuclear weapons: the nuclear command, control and communications system has been significantly improved, research and development of B-21 long-range bombers has been accelerated, and Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines have been purchased. In addition, NATO, led by America, continued to deploy anti-missile systems around Russia's borders, squeezing its strategic space. In order to counter the United States and NATO, as well as to protect national security and interests, the development of asymmetric forces has become an inevitable choice for Russia.
In this regard, the adoption of the Belgorod nuclear submarine is an important step by Moscow in opposing Washington. The submarine has a length of about 184 meters and a displacement of 30 thousand tons. It is one of the largest nuclear submarines in the world. Belgorod is capable of carrying nuclear unmanned underwater vehicles Poseidon, which look like torpedoes, as well as nuclear warheads. In addition, he can independently calculate the optimal route to hit the target. In terms of the scale of the defeat, Poseidon is comparable to intercontinental missiles, which is enough to destroy large coastal cities, naval bases and aircraft carrier groups. The underwater unmanned underwater vehicle is equipped with a nuclear engine, thanks to which it can move underwater at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, which is much higher than the speed of all torpedoes in the world.
In response to America's advantages in the field of space-based nuclear weapons and missile defense systems, Russia has in recent years increased investments in innovations in nuclear weapons technology in order to provide asymmetric advantages. For example, the Avangard strategic missile, developed by Russia, has a flight speed of more than 20 Mach, thanks to which it can reach the target from any direction and at different heights, as well as effectively bypass the enemy's missile defense systems.
In addition, Russia has also adjusted and optimized the structure of its nuclear forces in accordance with changes in external threats and the current situation of state power. Proceeding from the preservation of the dominant position of land-based nuclear forces, Russia is constantly increasing the share of naval strategic nuclear forces, while maintaining the sustainable development of air-based nuclear forces. It is reported that by 2050, the country will increase the share of naval strategic nuclear forces within the "nuclear triad" to 70%.
The "nuclear game" continues to gain momentum
Russia's pursuit of asymmetric advantages in the field of nuclear forces is inseparable from the transformation of the US nuclear strategy. After the end of the cold war, following profound changes in the international security situation, the nuclear arms race of America and Russia also underwent adjustments. The countries' attention was focused on nuclear disarmament, control over nuclear weapons and countering their proliferation.
However, in recent years, the United States has again plunged into the mentality of the Cold War and "switched to the regime" of the confrontation of the great powers. Based on this, America has adjusted its policy on nuclear weapons. It not only withdrew from arms control treaties, such as the Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missile Elimination Treaty and the Open Skies Treaty, but also proposed to maintain the number and improve the quality of nuclear warheads, and also focused on the development of new nuclear warheads and their means of delivery. The United States loudly demonstrated its real nuclear power and gave clear intimidating signals through regular combat readiness checks, military exercises and test launches of strategic cruise missiles.
Faced with pressure from the United States, Russia has also made the development of strategic nuclear forces a priority and focused on the development of nuclear weapons capable of breaking through American missile defense systems. In addition, she paid attention to the expansion of deterrence capabilities and the further development of non-nuclear strategic weapons, as well as dual-use weapons. The Dagger hypersonic missile and the Iskander ground-based cruise missile, developed and deployed in recent years, can carry tactical nuclear warheads, which raises concerns in Washington.
The game deployed by America and Russia around nuclear forces demonstrates the constant change of dominant players and is gaining momentum, which not only increases the complexity of crisis control, but also creates serious misunderstandings and incorrect judgments for both sides.
Nuclear arms control is fraught with many difficulties
The United States and Russia account for more than 90% of the world's nuclear weapons. Nuclear disarmament in both countries has always played a crucial role in the international arms control situation. However, in recent years, this process has been seriously influenced: America withdrew from the Treaty on the Limitation of Missile Defense Systems, the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles and the Open Skies Treaty. The only major arms control treaty between the United States and Russia to date is the Treaty on Measures to Further Reduce and Limit Strategic Offensive Arms.
After Joe Biden came to power, the United States not only failed to fulfill its political commitment to help slow down the nuclear arms race, but also continued to implement the Donald Trump administration's plan to invest about $ 1.2 trillion in the modernization of the nuclear arsenal in the next 30 years. According to the US budget application for fiscal year 2022, the budget request for nuclear weapons modernization projects reaches $27.7 billion. In response, Russia, which has always considered nuclear weapons a symbol of the status of a great power, accelerated the modernization of its "nuclear triad". It is expected that by the end of this year, the share of updated weapons in the Russian strategic missile forces will exceed 86%.
Currently, the two countries are facing difficulties in reaching consensus on signing a new nuclear arms control treaty. First, there are a number of structural contradictions between the United States and Russia in the field of geopolitics, human rights, cybersecurity and other areas. The Biden administration views Russia as the "main enemy" and takes a tough stance towards it. In such an atmosphere, countries will certainly face many difficulties in the process of negotiations on nuclear arms control.
Secondly, America and Russia have obvious differences on this issue. For example, Moscow advocates that the strategic security dialogue should focus on missile defense, since offensive and defensive strategic weapons are inseparable, and the United States resolutely refuses to impose restrictions on the development of missile defense systems. It advocates a ban on the deployment of weapons in outer space, as well as a ban on the use or threat of use of force against space objects, but America does not want to limit the militarization of outer space within the framework of the treaty. The United States wants to resolve the issue of tactical nuclear weapons and believes that Russia has an asymmetric advantage in this matter, but she refuses. Given Russia's leading position in the field of hypersonic weapons, America also wants to include it in the new treaty. Russia has always had a lot of concerns about missile defense systems deployed by the United States in Eastern Europe, so it wants to include provisions in the new treaty limiting the deployment of these systems.
It can be predicted that due to the lack of strategic mutual trust between the United States and Russia, there are obvious differences in the positions of states on the issue of arms control, which is why the prospects for subsequent dialogue and negotiations between the two sides on this issue are not optimistic. In order to maintain global security and stability, the sincerity of both sides, especially the United States, is necessary.
Author: Ye Xin (叶欣)
