Post by Andrei Tchentchik on Jan 24, 2020 17:45:12 GMT 2
(.#B.016).- Should we fear American missile tests? 18-8-2019.
Should we fear American missile tests?
Izvestia
File: Translation of the Russian press (August 2019).
August 23, 2019.
The United States conducted its first test of a land-intermediate-range missile after withdrawing from the INF Treaty. What are the circumstances and possible consequences of this demonstration?
A ground-to-ground Tomahawk missile
The test was conducted on August 18, 2019 on Saint Nicholas Island, California. A Tomahawk BGM-109 (Modified Block IV Tactical Tomahawk) missile was fired from the Mk-41 vertical launch system, deployed on an automotive trailer instead of a ship. According to Pentagon officials, the missile destroyed its target at a distance of more than 500 km.
VIDEO YOUTUBE
Les États-Unis testent un missile
Duration : 00m43s.
From a technical point of view, there is nothing new in this essay: Tomahawk naval missiles had already been fired from land systems several times, writes the daily Izvestia. But paragraph 11 of Article VII of the FNI Treaty allowed such tests for non-land-based missiles from stationary sites used solely for research purposes. The launch of August 18 was made from a mobile platform (if only relatively), which contradicts the clauses of the treaty that the United States legally left just over two weeks ago.
"The testing and mass production of any intermediate-range missile violates the INF Treaty (Article VI), but the United States has been legally out of it since 2 August. Moreover, the treaty did not prohibit research and development on these weapons, with the exception of testing and producing missiles, launch systems and isolated floors.
This cancels out apparent contradictions that might suggest that the Americans would have designed this cruise missile in secret for several years in violation of the treaty. In fact, nobody was hiding it: the funding for the design of this missile had been openly included in the military budgets of the United States in recent years because this work corresponded to the letter of the control regime, but obviously torpedo his mind, "explains Konstantin Bogdanov, researcher at the Center for International Security at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations.
The launch was carried out by a Navy unit, which is natural given that naval forces are currently the only US Army with Tomahawks. The trial also involved experts from the Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Directorate, which manages the design of new weapons.
The spirit and the letter
The missile test, held only 16 days after the treaty was withdrawn, may indicate that preparations had begun in advance, but the peculiarity of this concrete blow lies in the fact that it does not require any additional research and development work. , while the treaty has never prohibited the development of projects.
VIDEO YOUTUBE
Serguei Lavrov: Washington se préparait…
Duration : 00m42s.
The Mk-41 launch system and the Tomahawk missile are part of the US Navy's standard strike arsenal, and the transfer of this land-based missile system in no way changes the launching process. Moreover, this is a very primitive transfer: the launching system was firmly fixed in an upright position, which reduced the preparations for the evaluation of the welding work.
In this state, the launch system is obviously not suitable for combat deployment: the current configuration makes it dangerous even its simple transport by common roads. At the same time, this launch confirmed the fears raised long ago about the possibility of deploying Tomahawks on stationary shooting platforms of the ABM Aegis Ashore system in Romania and - eventually - in Poland. The need for this deployment - given the capabilities of the United States Navy and Air Force with large numbers of destroyers and missile cruisers, as well as strike aircraft - remains unclear.
"It is currently difficult to find a reasonable military and political scenario that would require this deployment and that it would be difficult to achieve based on existing combat forces not limited by the INF Treaty, that is, the Naval tomahawks and long-range airborne cruise missiles. On the other hand, this deployment could make sense as a measure of psychological pressure on Russia and a step towards strengthening ties between the United States and its allies, particularly in Eastern Europe.
This would, however, lead to a worsening of the military and political situation in Europe. Everything will depend on the adventurism of the US administration, "said Konstantin Bogdanov.
And after?
The design of a land-based missile system should in any case continue: indeed, the United States only has to repeat the development of the system of fire created in the past for the terrestrial version of the Tomahawk, the BGM-109G Gryphon (destroyed at the time under the INF Treaty). The main threat, however, will come from other systems.
"The design of the land launch system for cruise missiles, which we are currently seeing, is the simplest and fastest solution: the missile is already ready, and the firing system does not include any new principle that may delay the launch. project or make it more expensive. However, this is not the optimal option from the point of view of combat potential. The most promising projects are mid-range ground missile systems with planar hypersonic blocks. At the same time, these technologies are only at the beginning of their journey, whereas the deployment of such weapons near the borders of a rival could be even more destabilizing than the parking of ordinary Pershing-type ballistic missiles. 2, "remarked Konstantin Bogdanov.
Given the capabilities of the United States Air Force and Navy, the deployment of land-based missiles in Europe should not be part of Washington's goals, at least in the near future.
In this context, the test could be interpreted rather as the formal compliance with the requirements of the NIF Protection Act of the NIF Treaty adopted by the Congress in 2017. It included the design of a land mobile launch system carrying cruise missiles. . Given the particularities of the firing platform, the equipment tested can only be considered as a land mobile launch system in a very approximate way.
"The design probably ran into difficulties, for example because of the lack of funding. The equipment presented requires two weeks and not six months of work. It does not exclude that it could be the production of a batch of Tomahawks for these purposes only, and that this production cycle could indeed take several months, "says Alexander Ermakov, expert of the Russian Council for international affairs.
In any case, the launch of 18 August is only the first step towards resuming the development of intermediate-range land-based missiles. Their most likely deployment area is in the Far East, where China's growing potential could significantly limit US Air Force and Navy maneuverability in the western part of the world. Pacific Ocean in the medium term. In this context, new intermediate-range missiles deployed on island bases could prove useful in the stand-off with the Chinese arsenal.
The opinions expressed in this content are the sole responsibility of the author of the article taken from Russian media and translated in its entirety into French.
F I N .
Should we fear American missile tests?
Izvestia
File: Translation of the Russian press (August 2019).
August 23, 2019.
The United States conducted its first test of a land-intermediate-range missile after withdrawing from the INF Treaty. What are the circumstances and possible consequences of this demonstration?
A ground-to-ground Tomahawk missile
The test was conducted on August 18, 2019 on Saint Nicholas Island, California. A Tomahawk BGM-109 (Modified Block IV Tactical Tomahawk) missile was fired from the Mk-41 vertical launch system, deployed on an automotive trailer instead of a ship. According to Pentagon officials, the missile destroyed its target at a distance of more than 500 km.
VIDEO YOUTUBE
Les États-Unis testent un missile
Duration : 00m43s.
From a technical point of view, there is nothing new in this essay: Tomahawk naval missiles had already been fired from land systems several times, writes the daily Izvestia. But paragraph 11 of Article VII of the FNI Treaty allowed such tests for non-land-based missiles from stationary sites used solely for research purposes. The launch of August 18 was made from a mobile platform (if only relatively), which contradicts the clauses of the treaty that the United States legally left just over two weeks ago.
"The testing and mass production of any intermediate-range missile violates the INF Treaty (Article VI), but the United States has been legally out of it since 2 August. Moreover, the treaty did not prohibit research and development on these weapons, with the exception of testing and producing missiles, launch systems and isolated floors.
This cancels out apparent contradictions that might suggest that the Americans would have designed this cruise missile in secret for several years in violation of the treaty. In fact, nobody was hiding it: the funding for the design of this missile had been openly included in the military budgets of the United States in recent years because this work corresponded to the letter of the control regime, but obviously torpedo his mind, "explains Konstantin Bogdanov, researcher at the Center for International Security at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations.
The launch was carried out by a Navy unit, which is natural given that naval forces are currently the only US Army with Tomahawks. The trial also involved experts from the Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Directorate, which manages the design of new weapons.
The spirit and the letter
The missile test, held only 16 days after the treaty was withdrawn, may indicate that preparations had begun in advance, but the peculiarity of this concrete blow lies in the fact that it does not require any additional research and development work. , while the treaty has never prohibited the development of projects.
VIDEO YOUTUBE
Serguei Lavrov: Washington se préparait…
Duration : 00m42s.
The Mk-41 launch system and the Tomahawk missile are part of the US Navy's standard strike arsenal, and the transfer of this land-based missile system in no way changes the launching process. Moreover, this is a very primitive transfer: the launching system was firmly fixed in an upright position, which reduced the preparations for the evaluation of the welding work.
In this state, the launch system is obviously not suitable for combat deployment: the current configuration makes it dangerous even its simple transport by common roads. At the same time, this launch confirmed the fears raised long ago about the possibility of deploying Tomahawks on stationary shooting platforms of the ABM Aegis Ashore system in Romania and - eventually - in Poland. The need for this deployment - given the capabilities of the United States Navy and Air Force with large numbers of destroyers and missile cruisers, as well as strike aircraft - remains unclear.
"It is currently difficult to find a reasonable military and political scenario that would require this deployment and that it would be difficult to achieve based on existing combat forces not limited by the INF Treaty, that is, the Naval tomahawks and long-range airborne cruise missiles. On the other hand, this deployment could make sense as a measure of psychological pressure on Russia and a step towards strengthening ties between the United States and its allies, particularly in Eastern Europe.
This would, however, lead to a worsening of the military and political situation in Europe. Everything will depend on the adventurism of the US administration, "said Konstantin Bogdanov.
And after?
The design of a land-based missile system should in any case continue: indeed, the United States only has to repeat the development of the system of fire created in the past for the terrestrial version of the Tomahawk, the BGM-109G Gryphon (destroyed at the time under the INF Treaty). The main threat, however, will come from other systems.
"The design of the land launch system for cruise missiles, which we are currently seeing, is the simplest and fastest solution: the missile is already ready, and the firing system does not include any new principle that may delay the launch. project or make it more expensive. However, this is not the optimal option from the point of view of combat potential. The most promising projects are mid-range ground missile systems with planar hypersonic blocks. At the same time, these technologies are only at the beginning of their journey, whereas the deployment of such weapons near the borders of a rival could be even more destabilizing than the parking of ordinary Pershing-type ballistic missiles. 2, "remarked Konstantin Bogdanov.
Given the capabilities of the United States Air Force and Navy, the deployment of land-based missiles in Europe should not be part of Washington's goals, at least in the near future.
In this context, the test could be interpreted rather as the formal compliance with the requirements of the NIF Protection Act of the NIF Treaty adopted by the Congress in 2017. It included the design of a land mobile launch system carrying cruise missiles. . Given the particularities of the firing platform, the equipment tested can only be considered as a land mobile launch system in a very approximate way.
"The design probably ran into difficulties, for example because of the lack of funding. The equipment presented requires two weeks and not six months of work. It does not exclude that it could be the production of a batch of Tomahawks for these purposes only, and that this production cycle could indeed take several months, "says Alexander Ermakov, expert of the Russian Council for international affairs.
In any case, the launch of 18 August is only the first step towards resuming the development of intermediate-range land-based missiles. Their most likely deployment area is in the Far East, where China's growing potential could significantly limit US Air Force and Navy maneuverability in the western part of the world. Pacific Ocean in the medium term. In this context, new intermediate-range missiles deployed on island bases could prove useful in the stand-off with the Chinese arsenal.
The opinions expressed in this content are the sole responsibility of the author of the article taken from Russian media and translated in its entirety into French.
F I N .
