Russia to Deploy Precision Strike Missiles in Western Atlantic

Kalibr missile firing

 

Kalibr cruise missiles will target Washington, East Coast cities

Russia is deploying long-range, precision cruise missiles to the western Atlantic that American defense officials say will allow Moscow to target Washington and other East Coast cities with conventional or nuclear attacks.

Moscow is adding Kalibr land attack cruise missiles to both warships and missile submarines that Moscow plans to use in Atlantic patrols near the United States, sorties that were once routine during the Cold War.

Russia Goes Hypersonic: the West Lagging Behind in Missile Technology Race

Remember all those times Global Geopolitics has warned that the Russians and Chinese were either on par or soon going to be more militarily advanced than America?

Just in case, here’s a few refreshers posted throughout the years:

WORLD WAR III? US fears China will win any conflict because strength of Red Army’s fleet

Nuclear Submarines and Hypersonic Missiles: China Is Making Game-Changing Weapons Advances

Global Ballistic Missile Threats Beginning to Outpace US Defense Capability

China, Russia, Iran Closing Gap with Smaller, Older U.S. Military

Russia claims to have super weapon that disables western satellites and long range arms

Chinese bought division of IBM that manufactures computing servers for U.S. Navy Aegis cruisers

China Tests ICBM With Multiple Warheads

‘Stolen’ J-31 can beat American jets in dogfight, says US pilot

Pentagon: Military Losing Technological Superiority to China

Photos show second China stealth fighter prototype has test flight

Silent Running

Obama’s Lost in Space

 

 

On March 30, the Russian Navy launched Kazan, the second upgraded Yasen-class project 885M submarine. The Navy will take delivery of the vessel in 2018. A total of seven Yasen class nuclear attack submarines are to be built by 2023. Kazan is an upgraded Project 885M design – an advanced version that is in many ways much more capable than the lead ship of the class, Severodvinsk, the first submarine in the series, entered service in 2016.

The Kazan’s armament includes 3M22 Zircon – a hypersonic cruise capable of speeds of around Mach 5.0-Mach 6.0 (7,400 kilometer per hour (4,600 mile per hour) expected to enter into production in 2018. At a cruising altitude of 30,000 m its kinetic energy at impact is 50 times higher than existing air-ship and ship-to-ship missiles. The projectile can travel covering 155 miles in 2.5 minutes, which is faster than a sniper’s bullet. The enemy will not have enough time to get scared, let alone react.

For comparison, the sea-based Kalibr cruise missile travels at a Mach 0.9 speed, but while approaching the target, its warhead speeds up to Mach 2.9.

Russian Military Plans to Buy 100 Planes, 600 Armored Vehicles Annually

MOSCOW, December 10 (Sputnik) — The Russian Defense Ministry is planning to purchase up to 100 combat planes, over 120 helicopters, up to 30 naval vessels and some 600 armored vehicles annually in the next five years, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said Wednesday.

“By the end of the state rearmament program in 2021 the share of modern weaponry in the Armed Forces will be within the range of 70-100 percent,” Gerasimov said at a meeting with foreign military attaches in Moscow.