The new Russian Intercontinental ballistic missile RS-28 (ICBM), the Sarmat will be able to overcome even the most effective ABOUT the United States, forcing America to reconsider its policy of nuclear deterrence, the conclusion comes columnist for The National Interest Malcolm Davis.
The main feature of the new missile system Davis calls it the ability to deliver nuclear ammunition over the South pole, and not across the North, as it was before.
According to the author, this feature of the “Sarmatian” creates for US some inconvenience. The fact that the US missile defense system intended to reflect the limited number of nuclear spins, particularly from North Korea and possibly Iran. According to Davis, the United States has only thirty systems intercept ground-based, deployed in Alaska and California, and, according to the author, their effectiveness is highly conditional and they are not able to reflect the full-scale nuclear attack.
At the same time to solve the problem, according to Davis, can the deployment of heavy Intercontinental ballistic complexes, which are able to provide US sufficient protection. The author immediately makes a reservation that the installation of such complexes is able to destabilize the situation, which will lead to unnecessary provocation of Russia.
The main question that puts the RS-28 “Sarmat” to the United States, this is the way America needs to modernize its nuclear Arsenal, the journalist writes. So, with the advent of the administration trump has intensified the debate about the replacement of obsolete missiles Minuteman III.
Previously, trump said that the U.S. should “significantly strengthen and expand its nuclear potential.” This gave rise to a discussion of such issues as maintaining a “precautionary triggers” and retained the issue of ballistic systems.
The author acknowledges that it is not clear that can really mean the statement of trump, not to mention the spending budget, it is clear only that Russia’s nuclear potential is directly related to the choice of the nuclear policy of the United States.
Davis believes that if the United States decides to pursue the concept of a nuclear triad that includes land-based complexes, bombers, and submarines capable of carrying ballistic missiles, the emergence of Russian RS-28 will force the US to reconsider its concept of creating mobile land complexes, which had last been considered under President Reagan, and instead continue to use the current vulnerable silo-based missiles. In the end, it’s their vulnerability, leads to the concept of preventive strike, which in turn again increases the risk of nuclear conflict.
Thus, according to the author, the only choice that remains with US is the reduction of one or two elements of the nuclear triad. Thus, according to Davis, the most likely seems the development of sea and air elements of the triad.
Photo: Russian Defense Ministry