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Country Briefing: Russia - austere deterrence
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| 28 April 2006 |
By Henry Ivanov JDW Correspondent
Moscow
In January Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed, in principle, to the 'State Weapons Programme 2015' (GPV-2015), a classified document that specifies types and numbers of kit and their delivery dates required to equip the country's armed forces; the document is due to be approved by mid-2006. The previous five-year document was almost entirely focused on research and development programmes, while the new paper stresses the acquisition of new and upgraded equipment.
The top priority for GPV-2015 planners is to provide the country with a compact and modern nuclear deterrent force by 2015-20, which will guarantee "unsustainable damage" to any potential first-strike aggressor.
Nuclear deterrence forces
A key priority for GPV-2015 planners is to purchase Topol-M (SS-27) new-generation unified (silo/mobile launcher) intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and the navalised version Bulava (SS-N-30). They also support the upgrade and slow production of the Tupolev Tu-160 bombers armed with Raduga Kh-555 and Kh-101 extended-range cruise missiles (see air force).
The longer-term plan (2030-40) is to introduce a single 'cross-service', or common, missile that will evolve from the current Topol/Bulava family. In the interim period (2006-12), the Soviet-era RS-18/20 ICBMs, RSM-50/54 SLBMs and Tu-95MS bombers will remain the backbone of the national deterrent force to the end of their service lives, since making large numbers of new systems is unaffordable.
Land arsenal
Silo-based assets include 300 RS-20 (R-36M UTTKh and R-36M2) (SS-18 'Satan') liquid-fuel, multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV)-capable ballistic missiles. The most modern silo-based missiles are 42 RT-2PMU Topol-Ms, deployed for the first time in 1998.
The latter are 100 per cent unified with the mobile Topol-M systems and a handful of Topol-M mobile systems entered service in 2005. The first mobile Topol-M regiment will be declared fully operational in 2006.
Unlike other nuclear nations, Russia had long preferred liquid-fuel missiles over solid-fuel ones because liquid fuel offers higher propellant energy, resulting in higher payload/range and payload/take-off weight ratios. Russia has decided recently, however, to discontinue its development of liquid-fuel technology and to concentrate on solid-fuel systems as the latter are more affordable, have longer service lives and are better geared towards 'joint' requirements. According to the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD), 'cross-capability' ensures savings of 30-40 per cent.
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