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- Strip it down to "Oreshnik": Putin supported the adoption of the missile system into service
Strip it down to "Oreshnik": Putin supported the adoption of the missile system into service
The Russian medium-range Oreshnik missile system will be adopted by the Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) and its characteristics will be built up. The corresponding proposal was supported by Vladimir Putin on November 22. According to the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, the system can hit targets throughout Europe. At the same time, there are no analogs, means of countering and intercepting such a missile in the world, the president said. How the new system was created and when "Oreshnik" can go into mass production - in the material "Izvestia".
"Oreshnik" will be put in service of the Russian army
Vladimir Putin in the evening on November 22 gathered a meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, military-industrial complex and developers of missile weapons. At the meeting he congratulated the defense leadership on the fact that the tests of the new Oreshnik complex were successful: the results achieved and the speed of development are a source of pride and admiration, the president said. Developers and manufacturers will be presented to state awards, he announced.
A day earlier on November 21, Vladimir Putin made an address to the Russians, where he announced that the territory of the country was struck by long-range weapons of Western manufacture: on November 19, six missiles ATACMS made in the United States and on November 21, systems Storm Shadow (UK) and HIMARS (USA). It is impossible to use such weapons without the direct participation of military specialists of their producing countries, the head of state said at the time. He also announced that the regional conflict in Ukraine provoked by the West had acquired elements of global character. The Russian Armed Forces responded to the use of Western long-range weapons by striking at the territory of Ukraine - one of the largest industrial complexes "Yuzhmash" was hit in the city of Dnepropetrovsk. They used one of the newest medium-range missile systems "Oreshnik" for this purpose.
- I asked to organize our meeting today almost for the sole purpose - to thank you, to say thank you for the results of your work. I mean you and all the developers of the Oreshnik system, all the scientific, production and labor collectives involved in its creation, I mean the entire cooperation. And these are, as you know, designers, scientists, engineers, workers who developed hypersonic technologies, calculated ballistics, mastered the production of the latest materials, control systems, microelectronics," said Vladimir Putin.
Storm Shadow long-range missile
Moreover, "Oreshnik" is not a modernization of old Soviet systems, it was created on the basis of modern state-of-the-art developments. This, according to the head of state's estimates, is not just an effective hypersonic weapon, because due to its striking power, the results of its use against enemy facilities will be comparable in effect to strategic weapons. "Although in fact the Oreshnik system is not a strategic weapon, at least it is not an intercontinental ballistic missile, it is not a means of mass destruction also because it is also a precision weapon," he said.
- The weapon system that was tested yesterday is another reliable guarantor of Russia's territorial integrity and sovereignty. No one in the world has such weapons, as we know, as you know, yet. Yes, sooner or later it will appear in other leading countries, we know what kind of developments are under way there. But it will be tomorrow, or in a year or two. But we have this system today. And this is important," said Vladimir Putin.
At the same time, there are no means of countering such a missile in the world today, the Russian leader pointed out. Strategic Missile Forces Commander Sergei Karakayev added that the Oreshnik is capable of hitting targets throughout Europe, which distinguishes it from other long-range precision weapons.
Colonel General Sergei Karakayev, Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Missile Forces
- The newest medium-range missile system "Oreshnik" has no analogues in the world in terms of its characteristics, the combat equipment of the missile allows it to guarantee overcoming any existing and prospective missile defenses," Karakayev said.
Against this background, he suggested that, taking into account the positive result of the conducted launch, the complex should be taken into service and its further use should be continued with increasing its characteristics and improving the skills of personnel in its operation and use. "We will do so," Vladimir Putin responded.
The Russian Federation will set up serial production of the "Oreshnik"
Vladimir Putin at the meeting instructed to establish serial production of "Oreshnik", the system will be put into service in the Strategic Missile Forces. Vasily Tonkoshkurov, first deputy chairman of the board of the Military-Industrial Commission, said at the meeting that the research and production base of the defense industry enterprises will allow to organize serial production of these missile systems as soon as possible. The system itself was created promptly and entirely based on Russian technologies. According to military expert Viktor Litovkin, if the facilities are available, serial production can be organized relatively quickly: "within a reasonable time frame".
- As a rule, such missiles are made by the Votkinsk plant. It manufactures the Yars, Bulava, and once produced Topols. The Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant, which supplies chassis for Topols and Yars, can make chassis for them. This is a serious machine - all its wheel sets turn independently, each of them has its own engine. Thanks to this, this machine can turn around on the spot. We have similar machines made in Bryansk, but, and this is my opinion, they will take the Minsk machine. The control, targeting and navigation system will be produced separately for the new systems. A separate production facility will also be responsible for the production of warheads," he believes.
Votkinsk plant
Sergei Karakayev said that the results of the November 21 launch confirmed the correctness of the design and technical solutions with the specified characteristics. According to him, the development of a medium-range missile system was commissioned as early as July 2023, Sergey Karakayev specified.
If mass production of the Oreshnik is launched, these missiles can be deployed anywhere on the territory of the western regions of the Russian Federation, military expert Dmitry Kornev believes.
- Mobile basing makes these missiles invulnerable to air and space reconnaissance and attack means. Well, these missiles can hit any target on the European continent. We know from Defense Ministry statements that one missile carries several nuclear warheads. Given the fact that they cannot be shot down, this is almost an ideal weapon for a retaliatory strike, which will guarantee nuclear security for our country," he summarized.
Why Air Defense Systems Can't Stand Up to the "Nutshell"
In today's conditions, when the Russian Federation is facing new growing threats and challenges, work on such weapon systems as "Oreshnik" is of vital importance for our country, Vladimir Putin said. There are no analogs of Oreshnik in the West and it is impossible to compare it with American Tomahawk cruise missiles, Dmitry Kornev believes. At the same time, the United States, as soon as it withdrew from the RSMD treaty, immediately began developing several types of hypersonic systems and medium-range missiles.
Tomahawk cruise missile launch
- Their purpose is somewhat different from ours. They are trying to create systems that travel at speeds greater than five speeds of sound and for military use, i.e. to replace HIMARS and MLRS systems. And they are making medium-range systems with a radius of up to 2,000 kilometers at the moment. The US plans to cover the rest with the help of intercontinental ballistic missiles and sea- and air-based missiles," he emphasized.
According to the expert, theoretically modern systems can intercept any missile, but conventional air defense cannot shoot down a medium-range missile, because the speed is beyond the range of the systems' abilities - the angle of entry into the atmosphere is completely atypical.
- So missile defense systems like THAAD and the like have a certain percentage of probability that the target can be hit. But we are talking about a hypersonic target that is maneuvering, so even with specialized missile defense systems, the probability of hitting it starts to drop many times over. And at the moment hypersonic missiles cannot be shot down by modern missile defense and air defense systems, without options," he emphasized.
THAAD missile defense system
However, apart from the Oreshnik system, Russia has several systems of this kind in operation today.
"Based on the test results, these weapons will also go into production. In other words, we have a whole line of medium and shorter range complexes," the head of state noted.
The Roscosmos enterprises engaged in the production of missile weapons are capable of increasing their volumes by multiples, said Yuri Borisov, Director General of the State Corporation. At the same time, the design, technological, production and personnel potentials of the industry make it possible to create products with unique characteristics that have no equal in the world, he concluded.
