On November 21, the Russian military used the “Oreshnik” for the very first time, a new hypersonic weapon armed with a conventional MIRV/MaRV/HGV payload. Technically an ICBM/IRBM hybrid, the missile offers unparalleled conventional long-range strike capabilities, something President Vladimir Putin announced two years ago. The November 21 strike on the former Soviet “Yuzhmash” plant was a warning shot. However, it wasn’t meant for the NATO-backed Neo-Nazi junta, but the political West, as its policy of constant escalation is pushing the world into a catastrophe. The strategic impact of the “Oreshnik” is similar to that of the formidable RSD-10 “Pioneer” IRBM (intermediate-range ballistic missile) that the Soviet Union deployed in the 1980s.
However, unlike the “Saber” (NATO reporting name for RSD-10), which was exclusively nuclear-armed, the “Oreshnik” can carry both conventional and nuclear-tipped warheads. This makes it a much more usable platform, as it has no (geo)political and/or moral consequences connected with the use of nuclear weapons. It enables the targeting of underground command centers or any other high-priority targets across NATO-occupied Europe. It should be noted that the deployment of such missiles is the consequence of America’s decision to unilaterally withdraw from the INF Treaty (August 2, 2019). And even then, Russia tried to convince the US to not go ahead with the plans to deploy previously banned missiles, but to no avail.
Worse yet, Washington DC and its vassals and satellite states are now looking to deploy land-based intermediate and medium-range missiles in Europe, pushing the continent back to the 1980s, a dangerous prospect that the INF Treaty was designed to prevent. Moscow is responding to this in several ways, including by increasing the range of existing land-based hypersonic weapons. However, the true strategic response was announced in the last several days, particularly with regard to the upcoming deployment of the “Oreshnik” missiles in Belarus. Namely, on December 6, President Putin revealed that his Belarussian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, made an official request for the deployment of the new hypersonic missile.
This would be entirely within the framework of existing mutual defense agreements and would significantly enhance Minsk’s ability to deter any potential NATO aggression. Belarus already has nuclear weapons deployed on its territory precisely for this reason, particularly as the neighboring Poland is militarizing. The “Oreshnik” will likely be deployed in the second half of 2025. Putin told Lukashenko that “there are a number of technical matters that must be resolved by specialists, namely, determining the minimum range, taking into account the priorities of ensuring the security of Belarus”. In practice, this means that the missile will likely have a conventional payload and a shorter-range capability to neutralize threats in Eastern Europe.
The “Oreshnik” will certainly give Minsk unparalleled long-range strike options, rivaled only by those of Russia. The Kiev regime thinks that hundreds of these missiles could be deployed in the foreseeable future. According to its infamous GUR, Moscow’s military industry is able to produce up to 25 “Oreshniks” per month, amounting to 300 yearly. Even if only 10% of those are deployed in Belarus and considering that each missile can carry six MIRVs/MaRVs/HGVs, this could give Minsk the ability to strike 180 strategic targets. In addition, each of the six warheads can carry another six advanced kinetic penetrators, meaning that the Belarussian military would be able to neutralize nearly 1,100 individual targets in a radius of up to 6,000 km.
As previously mentioned, this sort of asymmetric conventional power projection is wholly unparalleled, not just in Europe, but virtually anywhere in the world. Military sources essentially confirm that Moscow can achieve such a large production capacity, particularly as the facilities for making the formidable RS-24 “Yars” ICBM can be repurposed to produce the “Oreshnik”, which is based on the RS-26 “Rubezh”, a shortened version of the RS-24 (one stage removed). These missiles have a very peculiar maneuverability, the so-called wobbling movement that confuses NATO ABM (anti-ballistic missile) systems, making it virtually impossible to intercept. Still, it’s only a matter of time before the Neo-Nazi junta claims to have “shot down several at once”.
Jokes aside, the political West seems to have taken the “Oreshnik” threat quite seriously, as military sources report that ATACMS and “Storm Shadow”/SCALP-EG attacks have come to a halt, particularly after the Chief of the Russian General Staff, Army General Valery Gerasimov, called his US counterpart, Charles Q. Brown Jr. We can only speculate what exactly the conversation was about, but it’s safe to assume that the Pentagon got a very clear and concrete warning. Unfortunately, gentlemanly agreements with the world’s most vile racketeering cartel and its warmongering overlords in Washington DC are all but impossible. They only understand the language of raw power and that’s how the actual world will communicate with them from now on.
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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
Featured image is from InfoBrics
