By Ankit Panda
Russia will move ahead with an updated rail-mounted missile system for Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles.
A report submitted by the Russian Defense Ministry to the Kremlin confirms that Russia will move ahead with an updated rail-mounted missile system for Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles. Russia hasn’t had a rail-mounted ICBM system since it dismantled the last of its Soviet-era SS-24s in 2008. RIA Novosti reported that Russia will “deploy rail-mounted nuclear missiles as a potential response to the United States’ Prompt Global Strike program.” The U.S. prompt global strike program is an ongoing effort to develop a capability to deliver a precise conventional weapon strike anywhere on Earth within one hour.
Rail-mounted ICBMs address the weaknesses of conventional silo-based ICBMs – the most obvious improvement being increased maneuverability. Given Russia’s immense strategic depth due to its size, a mobile ICBM delivered via rail would effectively guarantee the survivability of its ICBMs after a hypothetical first strike. This was the logic that drove the Soviet-era development of the SS-24.
Read the full story at The Diplomat