One of the effective responses to the US initiative to replace the American intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) LGM-30G Minuteman III with more modern means of delivering nuclear warheads would be the creation by Russia of the Barguzin combat railway missile system (BZHRK), suggests the Military Industrial courier “in the article” Train for Chicago “.
According to the weekly newspaper, the latter is devoid of the shortcomings of Yars-type mobile ground-based missile systems, for which “the combat patrol routes are either already known to the enemy, or can be reconnoitered.” “Military-Industrial Courier” assures that “Barguzin” is “unrecognizable neither for space reconnaissance, nor for ground.”
The publication notes that the Russian BZHRK, on which work was suspended in March 2018, is superior to its Soviet predecessor – the Molodets complex, which is outwardly indistinguishable from a conventional technical train. “It has the same kind of wagons, the load of which does not exceed 65 tons. The train is pulled by one diesel locomotive. But it’s not the old one, but the newly developed one with increased power, ”the newspaper writes.
“Military-Industrial Courier” notes that “Barguzin” uses missiles that weigh more than half the weight of 15Ж61 from “Molodets”. The publication also recalls that the new missile has a flight range of 12 thousand kilometers, but the payload is less – not ten, but six warheads of 150 kilotons each.
“However, it has a significantly greater ability to overcome missile defense [anti-missile defense] systems due to both a short active section, when the cruise engines are working, and maneuvering, as well as electronic warfare equipment,” the newspaper says.
In September, Pentagon Deputy Assistant Chief Robert Sufer promised that by about 2030 Russia and China would see the full power of US nuclear modernization.
In March 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the country's promising superweapon: the RS-28 Sarmat strategic missile system, the Burevestnik cruise missile of almost unlimited range, the Poseidon unmanned submarine, the Kinzhal aviation missile system, and the missile system “Avangard” with a hypersonic gliding winged unit and a combat laser installation “Peresvet”.
