Russia's controversial 9M729 missile system
(Baonghean.vn) - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States have increased pressure on Russia over accusations that Moscow has violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. What do we know about the Russian missile at the center of these accusations?
The current dispute between Russia and the West revolves around the Novator 9M729 medium-range cruise missile system (NATO designation SSC-8). The US has recently shared intelligence information about this weapon system with NATO.
Missile maker Novator, part of Russia's state-owned arms manufacturer Almas-Antei, has in the past developed the sea-launched Kalibr cruise missile, as well as a state-of-the-art nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile.
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| Russia's Iskander missile system. Photo: Reuters |
US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats was the first to provide technical details of the 9M729 missile system in late November, saying that Russia began developing the missile in the mid-2000s.
Novator was tasked with creating a weapon system “similar” to missile systems being developed at the time, such as the tactical Iskander missile, which can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads. The Iskander ballistic missile and the Kalibr guided rocket could serve as a basic model for the new weapon system.
Russia had a sophisticated missile testing program in place until 2015, Coats said. The INF treaty allows certain intermediate- and long-range missile systems to be tested on land, as long as they are designed for use by naval and air forces.
Mr. Coats accused Russia of using this provision to conceal the real purpose of developing the 9M729 missile system. Russian journalist and military analyst Alexander Golz commented: "If Mr. Coats' statement is correct, it is clear that Russia tried to hide its intention to test a land-based missile with a range prohibited by the INF Treaty." This expert believes that the US accusation is credible.
Meanwhile, Mr. Steven Pifer, a disarmament expert at the Brookings Institution (USA) said: "I doubt that Russia will violate the treaty just to develop a missile exceeding the range of 500 km. I once measured its range at 2,000 km but this is just an estimate."
Washington believes the new Russian missile system could be ready for deployment. US observers say the missiles tested by Russia are very similar to current weapons systems: mobile and difficult to detect.
In December 2017, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova acknowledged for the first time the existence of the 9M729 missile system. However, she affirmed that Russia has not developed or tested any weapons systems that violate the terms of the INF Treaty./.
