Putin announced a salvo launch of Zircon hypersonic missiles | News from Germany about Russia

Russia launched a salvo of Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles. This was announced on Friday, December 24, by the country’s President Vladimir Putin. “The tests were carried out successfully, flawlessly,” he added, pointing to “a significant step in improving the security of the Russian Federation.” At the same time, Putin asked Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov to thank the developers and assemblers of missile weapons.

Russia has repeatedly conducted single launches of this missile. So, surface tests were carried out, in particular, in July 2021, as well as in December, November and October 2020. In October, the first test launch of the Zircon took place from a submerged position. The salvo launches were not previously reported.

US reaction to tests of the Zircon rocket in the summer of 2021

After reports from the Russian Ministry of Defense about the test of the Zircon missile in July 2021, US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby noted that the Pentagon “is aware of these allegations (about the tests conducted by Russia. – Ed.) and that “Russia’s new hypersonic missiles could be destabilizing and pose serious risks.”

Hypersonic missiles can change their flight path, making it difficult for air defense systems to identify and eliminate missiles of this type.

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How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces

“Iron sword” in Lithuania

In Lithuania, until December 2, 2016, NATO forces’ Iron Sword military exercises are being held, in which, in addition to Lithuanian servicemen, soldiers from Germany, the USA, Great Britain and Poland are taking part. An additional battalion of NATO forces will be deployed in Lithuania. In the photo: military exercises of NATO soldiers, which took place in the Lithuanian town of Rukla this fall.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces

Russia strengthens its position in the Baltic

The grouping of troops in the Kaliningrad Special Region in 2016 was reinforced by a battalion of the Bastion coastal missile system. New missile systems came into service with the Baltic Fleet in 2016, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Photo: summer exercises of the Russian army in the Baltic

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces

Build strength on both sides

This infographic shows that there is a military build-up on both sides. Russia on its western borders is forming three new divisions with a total strength of up to 30 thousand servicemen. NATO is sending four battalions to the Baltic states and Poland, each with a thousand soldiers.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces

NATO installs missile defense system in Europe

In 2016, the Aegis ground-based anti-missile defense base was launched in Romania. There is a similar station in Poland. Together with a number of other ground targets, as well as a group of destroyers, the Romanian base is an integral part of the program for building a European phased adaptive missile defense (ABM) system. Russia believes that the missile defense system is directed against it.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces

Iskander in Kaliningrad

Meanwhile, Russia continues to strengthen the Kaliningrad region. The Russian Defense Ministry announced that it was realizing its intention to deploy Iskander-M missile systems in the western exclave. According to the Ministry of Defense, they are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 500 km, Iskander missiles can be equipped with two types of missiles – ballistic and cruise, and theoretically carry a nuclear warhead.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces

Latvia will spend on defense

In autumn, military exercises were held in various parts of Latvia, including the joint exercises of NATO troops “Silver Arrow”. Photo: Latvian Defense Minister Raimonds Bergmanis (center) and US servicemen after military exercises in the Latvian town of Adazi. Bergmanis can expect defense spending to rise by almost 100 million euros in 2017.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces

New divisions

For a long time after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the size of the Russian army was declining. But the announcement of the creation of new divisions, primarily near the Russian-Ukrainian border, could reverse this trend. Experts do not yet know how the Ministry of Defense is going to staff the new divisions with personnel. It is necessary to find about 30 thousand additional servicemen.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces

Major exercises in Poland

A major NATO military exercise called “Baltops” took place in the Baltic region this summer. They were attended by servicemen from 17 countries – over 6,000 soldiers in total. Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the bloc plans to transfer several hundred thousand soldiers to an enhanced regime of service in the member countries of the organization.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces

From howitzers to heavy bombers

Russia is actively testing and introducing new types of military equipment into service. These are Su-35S fighters, and Tor, Pantsir-S anti-aircraft missile systems, Verba MANPADS, Tornado-G multiple launch rocket systems and drones. Now the level of rearmament of the army, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, is 50 percent.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces

“We are not in a state of cold war with Russia”

In a recent interview with DW, Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATO is not in a cold war with Russia, calling for a more moderate definition. The scale of the military build-up by both sides is, indeed, incomparably smaller than when the arms race between the USSR and NATO was in full swing, as this timetable from the GDR times reminds of.

Author: Mikhail Bushuev