Russia Launches Missile and a Missile Arsenal that is 80% New by 2016
Russia successfully test-fired a Topol intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday as part of checks needed to extend its service life for up to 22 years, Russian media reported.
The Topol was fired from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, nestled among the forests of northern Russia, and successfully hit the test site on Russia’s Pacific peninsula of Kamchatka, 6,000 km (3,700 miles) to the east.
Russia plans on spending as much, if not more, money on defense, with or without an economic crisis. The Topol group of missiles has been around since 1985 and are said to be designed to pierce anti-missile defense systems such as the shield being proposed in Poland.
Russia’s missile arsenal, based on their current defense spending, will be 80% new by 2016.
Meanwhile, our President has cut missile defense in the upcoming defense budget. Although it appears that the defense budget has increased by 4% it’s not the overall increase, it’s where the cuts took place and on what programs. Our military supplies for specific integral projects will be cut and we will be behind the times compared to other countries – we will be left in a situation much like Carter and Clinton after they were done cutting defense programs.
New rockets will by 2016 account for at least 80% of the strategic missile forces in Russia as it replaces its Soviet-era arsenal with new nuclear-capable missiles, the military said Friday.
“Plans for the development of the Russian strategic rocket forces through 2016 foresee a decrease in quantity and a transformation in quality at the same time, ” Nikolai Solovstov, the commander of Russia’s strategic missile forces, told reporters.
“Rocket systems with an extended shelf life will account for roughly 20%, while new rocket systems for at least 80% of the forces,” said Colonel-General Solovtsov, quoted by the Russian news agencies.
In December, he announced that Russia would by 2020 replace its Soviet-era arsenal with new nuclear-capable intercontinental missiles capable of overcoming anti-missile defense measures by enemy states.
The costly overhaul of the missile forces comes as Russia is locked in a bitter dispute with the U.S. over its plans to install anti-missile defense facilities in central Europe.
Russia has urged Barack Obama to drop the plans, which were devised by his predecessor George W. Bush but the new U.S. president has said he would move forward with the missile defense shield.
I thought that Obama was Medved’s new comrade? Apparently, the fawning media was over exaggerating the success of Obama’s introduction to the international stage – what’s new though right? Many of us who read into things a little more and search for news all over the place knew that it was nothing near a success.
I also thought that Obama was going to implement “change” from the Bush era, however, he is doing many similar things that Bush did. Bush may have had some Intel in regards to Russia, China, etc.? What do you think?
Solovtsov added it was important for Russia to continue to upgrade its strategic missiles to ensure stability in the world.
“Quality enhancement of the components of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces will be required to maintain the necessary balance of forces in solving the task of nuclear containment,” he said.
Stability and nuclear containment could be code words for trying to become more of a world power and it’s my assumption that Russia has wanted to become a world superpower again, ever since it lost that title a couple decades ago.
In the last few days we have learned that both the Chicoms and Russia have been working overtime to plant hidden malware in the US electrical grid and that they have also been working with Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba (since former and current communist country do have a kindred spirit).
The Russians actually have more than just a small number of intercontinental missiles – many of which have multiple targeted warheads – as well as many nuclear missiles situated on submarines cruising the oceans.
It is still questionable to know at this time, whether or not statements out of Russia or any other country for that matter can be trusted, on what they pronounce to own as weapons. And without having inside information in the missile community of the defense industry, it is difficult to gather whether or not we have advanced enough systems to counter these types of weapons. I do know that we still outspend our counterparts for missiles and air defense, but as we have seen in cases of war, sometimes the most primitive of weapons and warfare are the toughest to defeat.
We have anti-missile systems, based in Alaska, and other places in the United States,(that obama is now in the process of cutting funding for or in some circumstances just keeping funding flat). These anti-missile systems and counter measures are designed to at best to intercept (there are 3 stages of missile interception) a small handful of missiles that North Korea or Iran might one day possess and choose to launch, or Russia and China who may and probably do, already have these types of weapons.
It’s no wonder why I felt that Sarah Palin, even as a VP, could have out done Obama on foreign policy and national defense. She is the commander in chief of the only National Guard that is on duty 24/7 and contains our best anti-missile systems. With recent news of the North Korean rocket launch Sarah Palin has been incredibly outspoken on the issue of missile defense spending and has written letters to Obama which we have also posted on here.
