"You shouldn't take it seriously": what is behind Trump's words about the US possessing new "incredible" weapons

US President Donald Trump said the United States possesses "incredible" weapons systems that "no one knows about."

“There are systems (of weapons. -

) that no one knows about, and you (journalists -

) as well.

Honestly, it seems to me that it will be better if everything stays that way.

We have incredible systems, ”said the head of the White House.

According to him, neither Moscow nor Beijing has such weapons as Washington has.

“We have systems that you've never seen before.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have nothing like that, ”Trump said.

The 45th President of the United States also called "sick" those who believe that he divulges classified information with such statements.

“They (media. -

) said that he (Trump. -

) might be giving out classified information.

These people are sick.

They never speak well of our technologies ... I just want (our. -

) people to know that we have the best systems, the best equipment and the best specialists in the world.

The American military is second to none, ”Trump said when asked if he shared classified information about the nuclear weapons system with journalist Bob Woodward, whose book, containing an interview with the American leader, will go on sale next week. 

Trump also stressed that he did not talk about any classified information, but only declares that the United States is creating "excellent weapons."

“Our Armed Forces are now stronger than ever.

Over the past three and a half years, we have spent $ 2.5 trillion on them.

We now have new missiles.

And, frankly, I hope we never have to use our nuclear (arsenal. -

), but now it is in its best condition in decades, "Trump said.

History of the issue

We will remind, earlier excerpts from the book of Bob Woodward were published by The Washington Post.

They, in particular, said that Trump allegedly declared the existence of a nuclear weapons system in the United States, which the country had never had before.

At the same time, James Acton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, doubts that "the United States really could have secretly created new nuclear weapons."

“Too much money would be spent on classified budgets.

There are too many people involved in the case to prevent information leaks, ”- said Acton on his Twitter.

I don't believe that the US could build an actually new nuclear weapon in secret.

Too much money for classified budgets.

Too many people involved for it not to leak.

- (((James Acton))) (@ james_acton32) September 9, 2020

He also suggested Trump was referring to a plan announced in 2017 to reduce the yield of nuclear warheads on submarine missiles.

“The dates were kept secret.

I assume that Trump told (Robert -

) Woodward about the initial stage of the deployment of (these missiles -

) before it became public.

Such warheads are commonly referred to as "low-yield D5" (since they are delivered by a sea-launched Trident II (D5) missile).

The warhead used is W76-2, ”he said.

The fact that the United States deployed low-yield warheads W76-2 on Trident II ballistic missiles carried by US submarines, the Pentagon announced in February this year.

Such a step in the American defense department was explained by the need to restrain "potential adversaries", including Russia.

• Pentagon

• Reuters

• © Jason Reed

Not the first statement

It is worth noting that this is not the first time Trump has announced the latest weapons that the United States allegedly possesses.

So, in mid-May, he said that the United States is developing a "super-duper-missile", which will be 17 times faster than existing analogues in the country.

In addition, according to the American leader, this weapon will be able to hit targets at a distance of 1,000 miles with a deviation of only 14 inches.

According to Trump, the rocket will be the fastest in the world and surpass the speed of Russian or Chinese counterparts.

Two weeks later, the head of the White House announced the appearance of the "greatest weapon" in history.

According to Trump, he has already familiarized himself with the developments and cannot even believe what he saw.

However, the president kept silent about the details.

In August, American General Neil Thurgood told Defense News that the United States intends to conduct three flight tests of the C-HGB (Common Hypersonic Glide Body) hypersonic soaring unit next year, in order to have time to enter into service in 2023.

According to him, the corresponding program will be "very aggressive".

He explained this by the fact that Washington needs to "compete with its closest rivals" - Russia and China.

The general also stressed that the development and testing of hypersonic weapons must be "radically" accelerated.

However, not only Thurgood spoke about the lag of the United States in the field of hypersound from the Russian Federation and the PRC.

Arms control special envoy Marshall Billingsley made a similar statement in July.

“We can say we are lagging behind - if we compare our success, in particular, with the implementation of the Chinese test program.

And Russia has already added two hypersonic nuclear units to its arsenal of heavy-class intercontinental missiles, ”he said.

Mike White, Assistant Director for Hypersonic Programs at the Pentagon, spoke in a similar vein.

According to him, the United States fell behind Russia and China after the two states moved from the development of hypersonic technologies to their practical application.

• Hypersonic hovering unit C-HGB

• © Oscar Sosa / US Navy

"Within the framework of the election campaign"

As noted by Konstantin Blokhin, a researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the loud statements of the head of the White House about the presence of the latest weapons in the United States "should not be taken seriously."

“Trump can say whatever he wants in the election campaign - just to win over the vacillating electorate and rally the nuclear one.

Moreover, one should not forget that the current American leader has such a feature as maximizing what is happening, exaggerating.

He usually conveys reality in a rather hypertrophied manner - according to his version, the United States almost single-handedly defeated ISIS *, won in World War II and stuff like that, ”Blokhin recalled in a conversation with RT.

According to him, Trump's statement is "unsupported", and only "ardent supporters" of the president can believe in it.

“Besides words, you need some kind of texture, proof.

In the meantime, it turns out that the head of the White House literally says: believe it or not, ”added the analyst.

At the same time, Konstantin Blokhin, like James Acton, believes that Washington really could not "secretly create a new nuclear weapon."

“It is impossible to do so without the whole world knowing about it.

After all, the creation of such weapons requires whole production chains, the use of a huge share of heavy industry, as well as a symbiosis of technologies from other areas, ”Blokhin said.  

At the same time, he admitted that the United States may indeed have classified projects in this area, but they are all at the development stage.

“The main thing is necessary for their implementation - time, there will not be enough money only.

In addition, modernization of production facilities and much more will be required, ”the analyst emphasized.

• US President Donald Trump with the American military

• AFP

• © Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images

Vasily Kashin, a military expert and senior researcher at the Higher School of Economics, share a similar point of view.

“These are too large programs for their implementation to remain completely secret.

In addition, for a long time, the Americans did not pay sufficient attention to the modernization of nuclear weapons.

And this is just one of the areas where they were behind Russia in many directions, ”the analyst noted in a commentary on RT.

According to Kashin, there are many examples of "giant US programs" that, with "multibillion-dollar spending, did not have a tangible effect."

“The United States, undoubtedly, receives less from the spent dollar of the military budget than Russia and China.

Despite the fact that the Pentagon is aware of this, so far Washington cannot solve this problem, "the expert concluded.

* "Islamic State" (IS, ISIS) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014.