"Russia to deploy new train-mounted railroad-based..." Topic

… nuclear ballistic missile in the coming year.

"Russia will draft a plan in the coming year to deploy train-mounted nuclear missiles as a potential response to the United States' Prompt Global Strike program, the commander of its Strategic Missile Force said on Wednesday, December 18, 2013. The work will be carried out by the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology – the developer of the submarine-launched Bulava nuclear missile – in the first half of next year.

"A Defense Ministry report has been submitted to the president and the order has been given to develop a preliminary design of a rail-mounted missile system," Lt. Gen. Sergei Karakaev said.

Karakaev added that defense officials, after analyzing the American system, concluded "there is a need to reconsider the issue of a rail-mounted missile system given its increased survivability and the extent of our railway network."…"

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Amicalement
Armand

Interesting.

I hadn't heard about that.

Apparently, Russian Mobile Missile Launchers of the wheeled variety, with nuclear warheads, are rumbling west, to be staged closer to the European frontier as well.

If I didn't know better, I'd swear that a new Cold War is brewing, along with the latest cold front that just swept across our country in the last week, or so.

You are right my friend Mako11 that they are rumbling to the west.

See here.

"Russia confirmed Monday, December 16, 2013, that it has deployed tactical ballistic missiles near its borders with NATO but said the move did not violate international agreements. Bild newspaper in Germany reported over the weekend that Russia had "quietly" moved 10 Iskander-M (SS-26 Stone) missile systems into its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad and along its border with the Baltic States and NATO members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The deployment marks the realization of threats from Moscow to respond with a firm gesture to NATO plans to place elements of the so-called European missile shield close to Russian borders.

"The deployment of Iskander missile battalions on the territory of the Western Military District does not violate any respective international agreements," ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said…"

Full article here
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Amicalement
Armand

The rail mounted ICBM keeps cropping up every few years (in the US and Russia). And, after everyone analyzes the thing, it quietly disappears from sight. Russia has fooled around with the idea before and nothing solid came of it. Same will happen again. Nothing new here, folks. Keep moving along….

I had an arse-puckering moment here a couple of weeks ago when an oil train driver rang to tell me that he'd derailed. The pucker-factor of derailing one of those doesn't bear thinking about.

It takes so little to make a train derail that I can't imagine this would be practical. Even a small 25 lb bomblet would be capable of twisting or dislodging the track enough to render it useless.

I think the point of rail-mounted nuclear artillery is that it can be constantly on the move before the balloon goes up. That makes counter-strikes at the opponents arsenal very hard, as it could be almost anywhere. It allows you more dispersal, which is useful in these days of smaller arsenals. It's not going to be moved once the fighting actually starts (well, maybe a few kilometres, just in case).

Keeping them moving to thwart any targeting might have been true back in the '70s and '80s (the last time this idea raised its head), but not so much now. Its far easier to 'bell the cat' today, making the whole idea moot. Also, the notion that it 'could be anywhere' is a misnomer; it can only be anywhere where the tracks run. And rest assured, those are well targeted.