A “Superweapon” for Vladimir Putin, a Lambda Missile for His Enemies? An investigation by Ukrainian media, the Kyiv Independent, revealed that Russia’s efforts to increase its nuclear threat may be hiding its military weakness. Explanation.
The Russian army has deployed six “new generation” strategic weapons for nearly 10 years. Among them are the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, the Kinzhal airborne hypersonic missile, and the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile. The list is completed by the Poseidon nuclear-powered underwater drone, the Avangard hypersonic glider and the Peresvet laser system.
“Impossible to intercept”… Really?
But these “superweapons” are primarily a means of “creating fear,” in the words of George Barros, of the Institute for the Study of War, and not a symbol of real offensive power. First, there is little independently verified information regarding the operational status of these weapons, due to too little, if any, combat testing.
Just take the example of Burevestnik, according to the Kyiv Independent. Presented as “impossible to intercept” with “unlimited” range, it remains a missile like any other missile based on several known elements. “A cruise missile can be intercepted. If it is subsonic and flies for 10 or 15 hours, we have time to detect it,” analyzed Pavel Podvig, a Geneva-based nuclear weapons expert and director of Russia’s nuclear forces research project.
The same goes for the now famous Poseidon. “This system has the same limitations as other underwater systems. It is not silent or invisible,” explained Dmitry Gorenburg of the non-profit research group Center for Naval Analyzes (CNA).
Ukraine does not want to lose
This is why if the symbolic value is strong, then the military value is “not very high”. One way to explain why only Russia has such missiles.
Less in the spotlight than the other missiles, the Zircon and Kinzhal missiles, the only missiles that have been combat tested on the Ukrainian front, have both been intercepted according to the Ukrainian army general staff. One more way to discredit Russian communications.
Ukraine is also not left behind with its Flamingo missiles. Presented as “very powerful” by Volodymyr Zelensky with greater striking power than the American Tomahawk, the aircraft was used too little in combat to know its true use on the front lines.
