Russia's latest missiles and other new types of weaponry are unmatched anywhere in the world and capable of nullifying the effectiveness of the United States' global missile defense, which Washington has started deploying since its withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty back in 2002, experts told Sputnik.

While addressing the parliament earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin described in detail several landmark weapons developed in Russia, pointing to their sophistication, but, at the same time, arguing that Russia's superb defense industry was a guarantee of global peace and stability.

Such weaponry as hypersonic Avangard missile, which is capable of cruising at a Mach number of 20, calls into question the relevance of the US missile defense network, the editor-in-chief of Arsenal Otechestva (Arsenal of the Fatherland) journal, Alexei Leonkov, said.

"I believe it was a response to the missile defense systems that have been deployed by the United States in Europe. US anti-missiles, including Aegis, may fly at a Mach number of 5 as maximum. In order to intercept a missile flying ... at a Mach number of 10, one needs an anti-missile with the speed of a Mach number of 15. The United States lacks such a missile, in this case, [the country] is simply powerless," Leonkov pointed out.

The expert also stressed that a Mach number of 20 was equivalent to the first space speed, or 6 km per second, adding that the missile was capable of maneuvering with a high degree of precision, which made it an unparalleled type of weaponry and an unattainable target for any US missile defense system.

The need to develop advanced weaponry, tasked with neutralizing the development of US global missile defense following the US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty, gains a new relevance against the backdrop of modernization of the US nuclear potential, as envisaged in the new Nuclear Posture Review, Alexey Podberezkin, a Russian professor with the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, said.

"[The new weaponry] does not violate the treaties signed with the United States or any other side ... The Nuclear Posture Review, adopted in February, envisages the modernization of the US potential, aimed ... at exerting coercive pressure on Russia," Podberezkin added.

Another military expert, Igor Korotchenko, editor in chief of National Defense Magazine, characterized advanced Russian weaponry as a response to an arms race initiated by the United States.

While referring to a new heavy intercontinental missile Sarmat with a short active flight phase, which complicates its interception by anti-missile equipment, Korotchenko stressed that such weaponry was needed to prevent the United States from making an irreversible breakthrough in terms of military and technical potential through the deployment of its global missile defense.

More Opinion
Military Expert: Russia's Avangard Missile Renders US Missile Defense Useless
The newest Russian missile, "Avangard," which can travel at speeds up to Mach 20, makes US defenses totally useless because US counter-missiles can only travel at Mach 5, says one military expert.

According to Alexey Leonkov, a former employee of the 30 Central Research Institute of Russia's Aerospace Force, the newest hypersonic missile that Russian President Vladimir Putin presented makes US missile defense systems completely useless.

During his annual address to Russia's Federal Assembly, Putin presented a number of secret weapons, including the Avangard hypersonic missile. The missile is believed to be able to travel at 20 times the speed of sound, or just over 15,000 mph. That's nearly as fast as the space shuttle's atmospheric reentry speed of Mach 25, or 17,000 mph.

According to Leonkov, the anti-ballistic missiles the US uses for defense can only travel at a speed of Mach 5, or just under 4,000 mph.

"I think that this is an answer to the Americans on the missile defense systems they deploy in Europe. American interceptors, including the Aegis, can only travel at Mach 5. In order to catch up with a missile traveling at Mach 10, one must have an interceptor running at Mach 15. Americans don't have such a missile; they are helpless here," Leonkov told Sputnik.

The expert explained that the Russian hypersonic missile has a speed comparable to the first cosmic speed, also called orbital velocity. The weapon is also extremely precise, he said.

"Mach 20 is roughly the first cosmic speed, or 6 km per second. That being said, the missile can maneuver with a high degree of precision, which is unrivaled anywhere in the world yet. No missile defense system can intercept it," Leonkov concluded.

Source: Sputnik News

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America's missile-defense system not ready for hypersonic threats
Washington (AFP) March 1, 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim to have developed a new generation of missile that is impervious to any Western shield has highlighted a gap in America's already imperfect missile-defense network. In a national address Thursday, Putin described several advances in missile technology, including a hypersonic weapon that can fly at many times the speed of sound and evade existing missile-defense systems. While experts are deeply skeptical about how close to operational such a missile might ... read more