Russia to develop new nuclear weapons Putin announces grand military plan

　　Russian Tu -160 "Pirate Flag" strategic bomber [data picture]

　　On October 18th, Putin strongly criticized the US policies on Iraq and Iran, and announced a "grand" military plan, including the development of "completely new" nuclear weapons.

　　According to a report on the US defense discussion website on the 19th, in a national radio address in Russia, Putin said that the US invasion of Iraq had entered a "dead end" and called on Washington to set an exact timetable for withdrawal.

　　Putin believes that it is its rich oil wealth that led to the tragedy of Iraq’s invasion. He commented that this is simply "rogue politics"; "Russia, which is equally rich in energy, must not repeat the same fate." He also lashed out at the U.S. Iran policy, saying that the U.S. persisted in its intransigent stance on the Iranian nuclear issue, and said that Russia insisted on solving it through negotiations, which was much stronger than threats, sanctions or even the use of force.

　　The White House quickly refuted Putin’s above statement and insisted that Iraq is developing in a "good direction".

　　In a video link with the officers and men of the Plesetsk nuclear bomb launch base, Putin said: "Next year, Russia will build another nuclear submarine and plan to develop a brand-new nuclear weapon."

　　"We not only have grand plans, but also these plans are completely feasible," Putin said just a few hours after the Russian military announced the successful test of the "Baiyang" intercontinental ballistic missile.

　　The article on the defense discussion website also mentioned that the 55-year-old Putin’s presidential term will expire next year. Because the current constitution prohibits the president from being re-elected for more than two terms, Putin is likely to lead the United Russia Party to participate in the parliamentary election and obtain a majority of seats, thus continuing to exert influence on Russia’s policy and continuing his current policy. In addition, the possibility of Putin taking the post of prime minister is not ruled out. There is also a situation that Putin participates in his third presidential election every other term, which can also be a president without violating the constitution.

　　At present, there are different views on this mysterious new nuclear weapon in the public opinion circle. According to the Russian Independent, according to the development of Russian nuclear missile weapons, there are only two new types of Russian nuclear missiles, one is the Blava ballistic missile system and the other is the iskander -M missile system. The "Brava" missile will be installed on the 995 nuclear submarine under construction, but at present, there are no actual samples of the missile, let alone equipped troops. More military experts believe that the new nuclear missile Putin refers to is probably the mobile "Baiyang" -M missile, which is improved on the basis of the original "Baiyang"-M missile to make its performance more advanced.

　　In the design process of the "Baiyang" -M missile, a variety of launching methods were envisaged, which can launch both single warheads and multiple warheads. According to the design scheme, when using multiple warheads, it is planned to install 3~4 warheads on it, each with an equivalent of 750,000 tons. When these warheads re-enter the atmosphere at an altitude of 90,000 meters, they can maneuver within a radius of 5 kilometers. Since China, Russia and the United States signed the START II Treaty during the development process, both sides are required not to equip ballistic missiles with multiple warheads. The Russian army temporarily put aside the multi-warhead scheme of the "Baiyang" -M missile. However, on June 13, 2002, the United States formally withdrew from the ABM Treaty, and Russia announced its withdrawal from the START II Treaty the next day. In this way, Russia is likely to re-enable the multi-warhead scheme and apply it to the improved version of "Baiyang" -M, and increase the number of warheads to 10. From a technical point of view, Russia already has the ability to carry heavy-duty multiple warheads with large thrust strategic nuclear missiles.

　　For a long time, the Russian army has regarded improving the "Baiyang" -M missile as one of the key measures for the development of the strategic rocket army. With the continuous actual combat of anti-missile technology, the Russian army has also continuously introduced the improved version of "Baiyang" -M to cope with the ever-developing anti-missile system. (Global Times Global Network)

Editor: Cao Jin