“The highest level of training”: strategic exercises “Thunder-2019” will start in Russia

From October 15-17, Russia will host the Thunder-2019 Strategic Nuclear Forces exercises. This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of Russia.

The maneuvers involved operational groups of military command and control, formations and units of the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces), long-range and military transport aircraft, strategic deterrence units and special forces units.

“About 12 thousand personnel, 213 Strategic Missile Forces launchers, up to 105 aircraft, of which five strategic missile carriers, up to 15 surface ships and five submarines, 310 units of military and special equipment, are involved in the exercise,” the defense department said department.

Major General Yevgeny Ilyin, deputy head of the Main Directorate for International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense, noted at a briefing for foreign military attaches that maneuvers will take place only at Russian training grounds and sites.

“All training areas are located exclusively on the territory of the Russian Federation. Foreign contingents are not involved in the exercises, ”he said.

Ilyin said that during the Thunder-2019 maneuvers, deployment of strategic forces groupings and their preparation for the use of high-precision long-range weapons will be practiced.

Speaking about the objectives of the exercises, experts note that they are necessary for the coordinated work of the updated structure of the RF Armed Forces.

“Given the new structure that we have developed in the armed forces, where there are now four districts and five commands, the fleet, the Russian Defense Ministry and the General Staff want to test preparations for joint interaction between the commands of different districts and work out serious strategic tasks,” he explained in a conversation with RT military expert Yuri Knutov.

Strategic Retooling

Experts note that since 2012, the Russian army has significantly increased the share of modern weapons in the Strategic Nuclear Forces (SNF). In 2018, the Ministry of Defense reported that over the past six years, this figure has grown from 37% to 81%.

• The launch of the caliber rocket
• RIA News
• © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Such an indicator was achieved due to the strengthening of the nuclear triad by the Borey Project 955 submarine missile cruisers, modernized strategic bombers (Tu-160 and Tu-95MS) and ultra-long-range air-launched cruise missiles X-101/102.

Notable progress has been made in equipping the RF Armed Forces with high-precision long-range missile weapons. Deliveries of the Iskander-M operational-tactical missile systems (OTRK), designed to destroy command posts, fortified ground targets and large enemy surface forces, were arranged.

As part of the state armament program (GPV), until 2027, serial models of new generation weapons will be delivered to the Russian army. We are talking about Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), S-500 Prometheus air defense systems, fifth-generation Su-57 fighters, Coalition-SV self-propelled artillery systems, Armata T-14 tanks, hypersonic weapons ( Dagger ”,“ Vanguard ”,“ Zircon ”).

In an interview with RT, the commercial director of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine Aleksey Leonkov noted that the Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces are at the highest level of training - the missile forces are equipped with the most advanced systems.

“Strategic Missile Forces are being upgraded first. In the near future, the Sarmat missiles RS-28 will be put into service, which will replace the R-36M. If the United States begins production and deployment of medium-range missiles, naturally, Russia will have new divisions that have weapons of this type, respectively, strategic nuclear forces will protect the sovereignty of the Russian Federation, ”Leonkov emphasized.

Containment system

Experts note that exercises like Thunder 2019 are becoming especially relevant in light of the collapse of the non-proliferation system that was established in the late period of the Cold War.

According to Alexei Leonkov, the United States is actually dismantling the international security system in the field of non-proliferation of nuclear and missile weapons.

“After the INF Treaty was eliminated, the level of security decreased, and a large threat of using nuclear weapons arose because the US changed the doctrine that now allows for preventive strikes against a likely enemy, and accordingly, the number of warheads will increase in the world. START III is the only deterrent to the number of warheads, but it will most likely not be extended by the Americans, ”Leonkov explained in an interview with RT.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with RT Arabic, Sky News Arabia and Al Arabya, noted that START III (also often referred to as START) is the latest tool to limit the arms race.

• RIA News
• © Sergey Guneev

“Now we have practically the last instrument for limiting the arms race, such an already serious arms race - this is START III. This is an agreement on the limitation of strategic offensive weapons, that is, the entire complex, the whole triad of strategic weapons: ground, sea and air-based missile defense systems, ”said the President of Russia.

He also emphasized that if this treaty is liquidated, then nothing will remain in the world in terms of limiting offensive arms.

“The situation in the world will be different. It will certainly become more dangerous, and the world will become more dangerous and less predictable than the one in which we live now, ”Putin stated.

According to Yuri Knutov, even with the retention of START III, the system of non-proliferation of strategic weapons actually ceases to exist.

“Today, a large number of countries have the potential to create nuclear weapons - from 10 to 20. The liquidation of the treaty could provoke an arms race, as countries, seeking to ensure their own security, will try to create their own nuclear weapons,” the expert emphasized.

According to him, under these conditions, missile and strategic weapons become the main means of projecting power in the world. At the same time, according to Knutov, developing hypersonic weapons, Russia not only provides itself with a strong advantage in this direction, but also restrains NATO from starting a war against it.

“The United States previously adopted a strategy for a quick global strike, according to which they had to strike anywhere in the world within an hour to eliminate the threat. However, after Russia overtook them on the issue of hypersound, they had to return to the old deterrence strategy based on the use of medium and shorter range missiles. This concept is rather illusory, because today the Russian Federation has powerful air defense systems that are capable of automatically intercepting both ballistic and hypersonic missiles, ”Knutov says.

As Alexei Leonkov noted in an interview with RT, in this situation, exercises are of particular importance.

“Today, missile and strategic weapons are becoming the main means of deterrence, and high-precision weapons can seriously change the balance of forces,” the expert explained.