Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow will react symmetrically to the actions of the United States after they withdraw from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF). At the same time, as the Foreign Minister stressed, Russia does not intend to enter the arms race and increase military spending.

“We will certainly respond with military-technical means to the threats that are created as a result of the USA’s exit from the INF range, as a result of their plans to create low-capacity nuclear weapons, which, according to all experts in the West, Russia and other countries, will dramatically lower the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, ”said Lavrov, speaking at the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University.

"The answer will be a mirror"

February 2 in the United States was officially launched the procedure for canceling the INF. On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the suspension of Moscow’s participation in the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Short-Range Missiles.

“Our answer will be a mirror. The American partners have announced that they are suspending their participation in the contract - and we are suspending. They announced that they are engaged in R & D and R & D and development work - and we will do the same, ”Putin said.

  • President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu
  • kremlin.ru

The head of state supported Shoigu’s proposal in the coming months to develop a ground-based version of the Caliber missile system (in service with the Navy) and a medium and shorter-range hypersonic ballistic missile.

According to Shoigu, the Ministry of Defense will prepare a plan for adjusting the budget for 2019 within a few days, which will allow the development of new projects under the current state armaments program (LG). At the same time, the Minister of Defense ruled out the possibility of allocating additional funds in connection with the suspension of the INF.

Recall Moscow accuses the United States of consistently non-compliance with the terms of the Treaty on the Elimination of Medium and Short Range Missiles. The first violations of the Russian Federation recorded in 1999, when the United States began to test drone drones (according to the characteristics specified in the INFMT, similar to ground-based cruise missiles).

Since the 2000s, the Pentagon has been using forbidden ballistic missiles (with a range of over 500 km) as targets for interceptor missiles. Since 2014, the United States has been building two positional areas of global missile defense in Romania and Poland. In these Eastern European countries, the Mk 41 installations are located, which can be used to launch Tomahawk missiles (are in service with the US Navy).

In 2017, Raytheon began upgrading the industrial complex in Tucson, Arizona, to launch the production of medium and short-range missiles. As noted by the Ministry of Defense, “over the last two years, the plant area has increased by 44% - from 55 to 79 thousand square meters. m, and the number of employees of the enterprise, according to official statements, should increase by almost 2 thousand people. "

The United States denies all charges against Moscow. According to US officials, Russia violated the INF Treaty, putting a 9M729 cruise missile on the Iskander-M operational-tactical complex on combat duty. In December 2018, the head of the State Department, Mike Pompeo, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg demanded that the Russian Federation “save” the INF Treaty by destroying the arsenal of 9M729.

Moscow refused to accept the ultimatum of the West. On January 23, the RF Ministry of Defense held a briefing, which revealed the tactical and technical characteristics (TTH) of the "forbidden" missile. According to the military, the range 9M729 is 480 km. This indicator can not be increased due to the limited volume of the fuel system.

Land "Calibers", "Daggers" and "Zircons"

Experts interviewed by RT believe that the Russian Defense Ministry has chosen an adequate response to the exit of the United States INF. In their opinion, the defense ministry took into account the possibilities of the domestic defense industry complex and the presidential requirement that the cost of military needs should not increase.

“The easiest way to answer is, of course, the“ landing ”of the Caliber. This was discussed in the expert environment for a long time. This is a technically simple task that does not entail any serious costs. The land version of the Caliber will make it possible to quickly, effectively and inexpensively respond to new military threats, hitting targets at a distance of 1.5-2 thousand km, ”said Vadim Kozyulin, professor at the Academy of Military Sciences, in an interview with RT.

Dmitry Kornev, the founder of Military Russia, adheres to a similar point of view. In the commentary of the RT, the expert stated that the mass and dimensional characteristics of the Calibrov are close to the missiles for the Iskander.

According to the expert, under the ground "Caliber" will not have to create a new launcher (PU) and control equipment.

“In order for the land-based Caliber to be used, it suffices to strengthen the Iskander chassis and create a modified PU. This will not require serious labor, ”explained Kornev.

  • Small rocket ship "Grad Sviyazhsk" launches a rocket "Caliber"
  • RIA News
  • © Denis Abramov

The most difficult task, according to experts, is the development of a hypersonic ballistic missile of medium and shorter range. The base option for such a munition can be an aviation hypersonic aeroballistic missile X-47M2 "Dagger". Also, according to analysts, domestic engineers in coordination with the Ministry of Defense are able to develop modifications of the Avangard complex and the newest anti-ship missile 3M22 Zircon by the NPO Mashinostroeniya (Reutov).

“Probably the easiest way to create a hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile is to equip the Dagger with an extra step. It will perform the function of its aircraft carrier (MiG-31 fighter. - RT ), that is, accelerate the rocket so that it will pick up speed above five Mach numbers, ”Kozyulin said.

In addition, as the expert believes, the domestic military-industrial complex may develop a new version of the combat unit of the Avangard complex (product 4202), which is a planning winged unit. However, according to the expert, Russian specialists will have to improve the launch vehicle, increasing the power of its engines.

Dmitry Kornev considers it advisable to conduct research and development to create a land modification of the "Zircon", which develops a speed of 4-8 Mach. The disadvantage of the 3M22, as the expert noted, is the short range. Nevertheless, the source RT is confident that the specialists of NPO Mashinostroenia can modify their offspring by increasing the radius of destruction to 1–1.5 thousand km.

“While“ Zircon ”is at the testing stage. I think its land version will be created within seven years. If Russia needs to increase its medium-range and shorter range nuclear-missile potential in a short time, then, in addition to Caliber, it is appropriate to deploy RS-26 Rubezh mobile complexes. This is a new, already tested weapon, ”concluded Kornev.