The Missile Challenge between Russia and NATO
The fact that missiles and corresponding arsenals are available to world powers is a reality so little talked about that there are many notions about it that are completely misleading in public opinion. One of them, filtered through months and years of overt and covert propaganda orchestrated by the Kremlin, is that NATO’s expansion to include the former Warsaw Pact countries has brought a threat to Russia because now new Atlantic Alliance ballistic missiles are being targeted are to the great eastern neighbor. The truth is different: the number of NATO surfacetosurface ballistic missiles based on bases on the European continent they are not in centraleastern Europe is zero.
The Alliance’s only missiles installed in Europe are those of the Aegis Ashore program in Deveselu, Romania, and at a second site in Poland from the end of this year or in 2023. But in this case we are talking about missiles with exclusively defensive purposes. “They are surfacetoair interceptors without explosive charges, designed to destroy in flight enemy missiles or aircraft penetrating the area Pierluigi Barberini of the Center for International Studies in Rome . As designed, they cannot be directed to destroy targets on enemy soil ».
The Moscow Arsenal
A completely different situation is that of Russia. After more than a thousand ballistic missiles were fired at Ukraine in a month mainly the Iskander model with a 500kilometer radius and an explosive charge of 480 to 750 kilos suggests that Moscow must control many thousands of them. The database of the Center for International Strategic Studies in Washington shows that Russia has 18 different models of ballistic missiles with ranges from 120 to 16 thousand kilometers.
Also read: Putin’s threat and Kim’s provocations, the headlines of Russia and North Korea
The number of ammunition of this type is not known, but it is known that many of these models can also carry nuclear warheads. The basic model is precisely the Iskander (also owned by Armenia and Algeria), which has been in service since 2006 and is capable of carrying thermobaric bombs. It is 7.3 meters long, 92 centimeters wide, mounted and fired from heavy transport vehicles, and is a weapon that Moscow has aimed at the European Union. This and other models are believed to be in Kaliningrad, the Russian enclave between Poland and the Baltic States. With a range of 500 kilometers, it is possible from there to reach not only Poland and the Baltic States but also northern Germany.
Russian missiles fired from warships and submarines
Another ballistic missile that Russia frequently uses in Ukraine with brutal effects is the Kalibr. Launched from warships, it has a range of up to 2,500 kilometers, can carry nuclear warheads or up to 480 kilos of explosives and is 6.2 meters long.
Kim’s rocket provocations
Another missile power, unfortunately, is North Korea. According to the Center for International Strategic Studies database, fifteen different models are already in service and seven are under development. The Pukgugsong3 deportable submarine has an estimated range of 1,900 kilometers and an unknown explosive charge. A test launch was conducted in October 2019. And that is one of the hallmarks of the North Korean regime: the ongoing missile test provocations, like last night’s. Pyongyang, which could theoretically reach the United States and Europe with its Hwasong 15 model under development today, conducted eight tests in 2020 and twenty in 2019.
The missile defenses of France and Great Britain
And Europe? The continent is essentially home to two autonomous missile powers, while the other countries rely on the ability to mount American bombs (including nuclear bombs) on ships and planes. These two countries are, of course, France and Great Britain. France has eight operational models with a range of up to 8,000 kilometers. Britain has five, airtosurface, submarine and landbased. It must be said that Londa’s main model, the Apache, was also sold to Italy in a few copies.