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Originally Posted by Codes
Is this credible or merely propaganda, Captain?
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I think that its credible . . . with exaggeration.
A Nuclear Powered Cruise missile is a frightening concept, especially one that could theoretically be capable of extreme high speed. If you can extend the range of a cruise missile from about 600 miles to unlimited, its possible that you have a really small missile that you can coat with RAM, that after launching can basically fly low and navigate between trees.
Yeah that would really be a ABM killing technological break through.
The draw back is that you would only have one warhead on a missile, instead of multiples on a missile like a MIRV'd ICBM.
Ok, let me step back and kind of explain.
the advantage of a MIRV is that you can basically shower a target with multiple large warheads. That means that there is a higher likely hood of a target getting hit. However in the face of a ABM threat, if you take out one or two missiles, you rip a hole in a enemies plans. For example. if you take out one American missile submarine you rip a huge hole in America's deterrence plan.
With a cruise missile you would pretty much need to emphasize redundancies into any war plan. The benefit though is because Cruise Missiles are very smart weapons now. You could pretty much launch 2 or 3 missiles that would dive into the clutter and could navigate to the target from different routes and directions.
There are three things that the major powers are working on.
Hypersonic weapns.
The American's I think are banking on a Mach 6 missile called the high speed strike weapon that can be fired from a F-35, its a conventional powered Scram jet enabled stealthy cruise missile with a range of 600 miles.
The BrahMos II was a Indian/Russian concept that would travel at Mach 6, have a range of 300 miles and be launched from their next concept destroyer.
Extreme Long Range.
The running joke is the 70's and 80's was that American and Russian missile boats could fire from along their docks and hit targets anywhere. What's interesting is that those ranges are there, but maybe the day of the ICBM is coming to an end with major powers researching the ability to knock out ICBM's before they get to their terminal phase.
The answer is in cruise missiles. If you can get a self reliant cuise missile that can launch off of a hidden launcher instead of an aircraft, sub or ship. You get a deadly, and with modern stealth and the size of a cruise missile, and the ability to create a smart cruise missile something that's terrifying and unstoppable with something like a Star Wars esque laser defense grid. If the Russians have come up with a nuclear powered engine for a cruise missile, that thing has no range limits and probably a lot of speed.
Obviously stealth is huge, but the Russians have been working on autonomous brilliant weapons, the ability to maneuver and evade is on the table.
I think on this board a few years back that Russia had changed its defense philsophy, the day of the overwhelming crush of the Red Army and the doctrine of 5-1 has gone away. Instead Russia has been pouring a ton of money into projects based around the idea of fewer weapons and troops and greater effect.
When America pulled out of the ABM treaty and started placing ABM technology around Russia. The Russian's reacted by looking for ways to make ABM yesterdays news.
Just to illustrate
These are the things that the Russians have or will have soon
RS-28 Samat - A new generation of ICBM with the ability to carry extremely heavy leads. It can use conventional warheads, or in theory hypersonic gliders. They also carry extensive countermeasures.
The Underwater ballistic drone. Basically this is almost like a unmanned hunter killer with a unlimited range. It can be used for interdiction, where it can basically float in an enemies water and then attack a target with or without human intervention. Basically it could float up to a ship like the George Washington, ask if its Sarah Conner and kill it. If they have this on the table. Its going to have an extremely small signature, probably be nuclear powered and extremely quiet, and it can go to a strike area and sit quietly like a mine until it detects its target and then its also supposed to be extremely fast.
Kinzhal missile system. Deployed has a 2000 mile range and can maneuver autonomously, it also travels at 10 times the speed of sound.
RS-26 Rubezh (in production) - a next generation depressed trajectory supersonic MIRV or MARV equipt intercontinental ballistic missile. This thing basically takes a straight line through the atmosphere to its target 6000 miles away at 20 times the speed of sound. Basically its so fast that the time between a launch warning and impact is extremely small.
We know that Putin isn't bragging out Russia's new classes of submarines.
The Russians have started to bring their Yasen submarines on line which are considered a next generation deep diving high speed extremely quiet submarine. Their new Borei class of missile boats is a fourth generation highly capable missile boat.
The Russian's are becoming too good at what they're doing and in terms of keeping secrets. I was surprised that the SU-57 was deployed, but we have seen 6 of them now.
Putin showed test footage of the cruise missile so I'm inclined to believe that something is there.
Now I don't doubt that the American's are working on similar things. But the Russians seem to have made a generational leap forward.