Feed: Russians developing new ICBM in spite of START - AggScore: 13.0

Russians developing new ICBM in spite of START

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caption id alignalignleft width210 captionThe Russians are developing a new ICBM that will render the US missile defense system obsolete before it39s even perfected. Photo Military.comimg srchttpcdn2b.examiner.comsitesdefaultfilesstyleslargehash18ac18acbf9ce806243b340ddd944bc1a9f0.jpg alt width210 height140 captionWork ona new longrangemissile, which has yet to be given a name,that beganin Russiaduring the early daysof the Obama Administrationcould be wrapped up as early as 2017, according to aU.S. intelligence official.Ina news story published byRussian news agency ITARTASS that went largely unnoticed a highranking government officialboasted thatthe new missile would be capable of overcoming any nuclear missile shield that the Americans or any other nation could create.This applies in the fullest sense to the USAs antimissile defense system and to NATOs planned European missile defense system, said Artur Usenkov, a Russian weapons expert.Russia is developing the new missile despite recently negotiating a new landmark Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START,with the United States which will see both countries make deep cuts in their nuclear arsenals in the years ahead. Its a treaty that progressive politicians and activists are fiercely pushing in spite of the threats posed by some of the very same nations that the Russians arm and equip such as Iran and Venezuela.The new Russian missile will replace theantiquatedSovietera SS18 intercontinental ballistic missile whose terrifying destructive capability gave it the nickname Satan. The Russiansare estimated to havebetween60 and90 SS18 missile silo launchers spread across their country. These missilesare capable of withstanding anything except a direct hit from another nuclear weapon.While European Unionpoliticos, itsnews media and itsmilitary establishment are concerned with the development of this latest weapon of mass destruction,President Barack Obama and his national security team, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, are ignoring the gravityof the situation.While the Russians are developing a new delivery system for their nuclear warheads, the Obama administration appears unconcerned with the failure ofthis nations nuclear defense system to stop the current crop ofRussian ICBMs, nevermind the threat of an improved ICBM, said political strategist Mike Baker.Just recently, the Vandenberg Air Force Base conducted amissile defense test with disappointing results. It launched a GroundBased Interceptor GBI missile that failedto destroy an incoming intermediaterange target missile launched from Kwajalein Atoll.While the White House staff and the Defense Secretary and military chiefs of staff were silent, the Pentagons Missile Defense Agency MDAspokesman Richard Lehner issued a statement Program officials will conduct an extensive investigation to determine the cause of the failure to intercept the target.The next flight test will be determined after identification of the cause of the failure, Lehner added.Unfortunately, according to defense experts, the GBI is the only longrange missile the U.S. possesses. And this latest test is the third major failure in two years and thefirst test firingconductedin January 2010 also failed to take out its target.U.S. military and intelligence agencies have testified in Congressional hearings that the ballistic missile threat to the United States from North Korea is real and that Iran could have a capability as early as 2015 to strike the U.S. homeland. There are GroundBased Interceptors GBI deployed today that the Administration has deemed necessary to protect our nation from longrange ballistic missile threats. These deployed GBIs also help dissuade North Korea and Iran from developing longrange missiles that could strike the U.S.Lehner said that both the longrange and intermediaterange missiles werelaunched properly with all radar and sensor systems operating. However, the longrange missile failed to kill its target.This is a tremendous setback for the testing of this complicated system. Much more troubling is the confidence in the GBI system that is currently deployed in Alaska and California. The thirty deployed interceptors have a similar configuration to the one in thetest that failed, said Riki Ellison, chairman and founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.Modernization of the GBI system would seem to be necessary, as well as a strong look at the testing culture and environment, Ellison added.