How violated the INF Treaty
In 1987, the USSR and the USA signed the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, which determined the rejection of a number of weapons. Two countries in the shortest time complied with the requirements of the Treaty in terms of destruction weapons, and for a time almost forgot about it. However, in recent years, Washington and Moscow began to regularly exchange accusations of violation of the Treaty. Moreover, the United States intends to withdraw from the Treaty in the near future, explaining that by violations on the part of Russia.
It should be noted that the discussion of alleged violations began long before official statements by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, about withdrawing from the Treaty. A few years ago, the American side accused the Russian authorities of creating promising types of weapons, contrary to the conditions of the INF. Moscow denied these accusations, and soon made counterclaims to Washington. Recall what the two countries blamed each other for and how they rejected such suspicions.
USA vs Russia
Present story with regular mutual accusations and excuses began about ten years ago. At the end of the last decade, representatives of the American leadership began to mention some violations of the INF Treaty by Russia. At the same time, for a long time they spoke only about the fact of the existence of violations, without going into details. Specific information about the types of products, projects or tests that are contrary to the Treaty was not called at first.
Launch of the Iskander 9М728 cruise missile. Photo of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation / mil.ru
Russia reacted to such accusations in an obvious way. Claims from “unofficial” sources were simply ignored, and statements by representatives of the American state received a harsh response. Moscow argued that it does not create or test any systems that violate the INF. In addition, there was a lack of specific data - this was interpreted as a lack of evidence of violations.
In 2013, first in the press, and then in open official documents, specific names appeared. With reference to sources in intelligence structures, the American press wrote about the beginning of tests of the Rubezh ballistic missile RS-26. The media learned that the launches of such missiles are carried out at the Kapustin Yar proving ground, and training targets are located at the Sary-Shagan proving ground. The length of such a route is within the limits of the Treaty. This fact was considered a violation.
Press information interested American politicians. In the autumn of the same year, a group of senators appealed to the State Department and demanded to respond to the alleged violations of the INF. The accusations were again voiced, and this time, unlike the previous ones, the names and indices of the products were present in them.
The Russian side responded to these events in an interesting way. It soon became known that the PC-26 rocket has a range of more than 5500 km and can be considered intercontinental. Thus, it does not belong to the class of medium-range missiles, and therefore does not violate the INF Treaty. In the future, the theme of the Rubezh missile was repeatedly raised at the highest level, but, in general, did not have much impact on the political situation. In March, the 2018 of the PC-26 product in general ceased to be a cause for criticism. Russian media have learned that the project "Frontier" is excluded from the new state armament program for 2018-27 years. Thus, the United States lost one of its arguments against Russia.
The first public demonstration of the "controversial" 9М729 rocket. Photo of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation / mil.ru
In the middle of 2014, for the first time, charges of violating the INF have been heard at the highest level. US President Barack Obama sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin stating violations alleged in the past. It was alleged that US intelligence was able to find out about the testing of some ground-based cruise missile with a range of more than 500 km. Later it became known that we are talking about the product with the index 9М729.
The product 9М729 became the formal reason for the collection of the Special Control Commission of the INF Treaty in 2016, and later turned out to be the main argument from the United States. The main accusations against Russia are connected with 2014 of the year and so far with the 9М729 rocket. On the basis of such accusations, the United States is now building its position, and in accordance with the latter are making plans for the future. Last fall, the American leadership, while continuing to insist on its accusations, announced its intention to withdraw from the Treaty. In the future, Washington urged Moscow to abandon the 9М729 missiles or to provide full information about these weapons.
On January 23, the Russian Ministry of Defense responded in detail to the allegations related to the 9М729 rocket. During the special briefing, representatives of the military department told about the origin of this product, identified its differences and named the main characteristics. It was emphasized that such a briefing and demonstration of a real rocket are an example of particular transparency that exceeds the requirements of the INF.
According to Russian data, the 9М729 is a modernized version of the existing 9М728 cruise missile of the Iskander complex and is distinguished by its onboard equipment. Due to the renewal of the design, the rocket became longer, and the flight range was reduced to 480 km. For the new missile had to develop an upgraded launcher. It is distinguished from the base Iskander machine by the ability to transport twice the ammunition and carries four missiles at once.
The design and characteristics of the 9М728 and 9М729 cruise missiles. Photo of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation / mil.ru
The Defense Ministry briefing was attended by representatives of many countries, but the United States and its main allies showed no interest in this event. Later, the American embassy called the briefing "another attempt to hide the violation." Apparently, Washington does not intend to listen to the Russian arguments and is going to further advance its position. How events will develop around the rocket 9М729 - will be known in the coming days.
Russia vs USA
From the very beginning, Russia took a tough stance and began to reject all accusations from the United States, and this was not too difficult due to the weakness of the American position. Soon Moscow "went on the offensive" and began to make counterclaims. Indeed, there are quite a few facts in the activities of the United States that may look like violations of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles. Such arguments are still being used, and Washington is in no hurry to confess to its violations.
Russia's main complaint is about missile defense deployments in Eastern Europe. In Romania and Poland, Aegis Ashore missile defense complexes have already been built and put on duty. It is planned to modernize these complexes, as well as to deploy new similar facilities near the Russian borders. The Aegis Eshor complex includes a surveillance and guidance radar, a combat information and control system, and a Mk 41 universal launcher. All of these components were borrowed from existing US Navy surface ships.
According to official data, Aegis Ashore launchers can only use SM-2 and SM-3 anti-aircraft missiles. Other ship armaments, allegedly, cannot be used on land Mk 41 due to the lack of some devices and software. Nevertheless, Russia doubts the veracity of official information. Even before the new complexes were put on duty, Moscow said that deployable launchers could use BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles. This weapon has a range of more than 1000 km, and therefore its placement on land installations contradicts the INF range. Thus, during the construction of missile defense ground systems, the US side secretly violated the Treaty.
Missile defense complex Aegis Ahsore at the Romanian air base Deveselu. Photos News.usni.org
Official Washington is expected to reject this accusation. It is argued that in the development of the land version of the ship complex, measures were taken to preclude the use of cruise missiles. The two countries are still exchanging statements in the context of using Aegis Ashore as a shock tool, but have not yet reached a common opinion. Russia continues to blame, and the United States once again denies its guilt.
In 2013, another start to criticize the actions of the United States was the launch of the AGM-158B JASSM-ER cruise air-launched missile test. This product is intended for use by strike aircraft and shows a range of slightly less than 1000 km. The first tests of the missiles were carried out without the use of aircraft: the products were launched from a ground-based launcher. This fact became a reason for criticism in the context of the INF Treaty. However, Washington denied the charges and pointed out the nature of the project. Despite tests using ground systems, the JASSM-ER rocket is still intended for combat aircraft.
For some time now, statements by Russian officials have cited foreign unmanned aerial vehicles as a possible violation of the INF Treaty. The United States has many types of such equipment in service, and some of these vehicles are capable of carrying weapons for striking ground targets. In terms of their flight performance, UAVs of medium and heavy class are similar to modern cruise missiles. In addition, with the help of guided bombs or missiles, they can strike at ground targets. A number of American drones has a range of more than 500 km.
BGM-109G Gryphon missile system with a Tomahawk missile. Decommissioned in accordance with the INF. Photo US Army
Thus, formally not being land-based cruise missiles, modern UAVs can solve similar combat missions. At the same time, the drone, unlike a rocket, is capable of making far more than one sortie. In the INF Treaty, unmanned aerial vehicles were not mentioned, and it in no way limits their development. Nevertheless, such a technique is to a certain extent similar to the products, the creation and operation of which are prohibited. This allows the Russian side to make transparent hints and talk about the violation of the spirit of the Treaty in the formal observance of its conditions.
US denies trial allegations aviation rockets on the ground and the production of unmanned aerial vehicles. There is a curious reaction here. Foreign experts note that such events indicate the weaknesses of the INF Treaty. This agreement was drawn up three decades ago, taking into account existing technologies and weapons. It was actually written for specific types of weapons and almost did not take into account the progress of future years. The ban on medium and short-range missiles, as well as the need to develop other areas, leads to the observed consequences. The parties to the Treaty find various loopholes through which they can accuse the opponent of violations.
United States v. Treaty
A few days ago, the leadership of the United States announced its plans for the near future in the context of the Treaty on the Elimination of Medium and Small-Range Missiles. Since Russia does not want to recognize or eliminate its "violations", Washington will unilaterally withdraw from the agreement. The exit process starts on February 2 and will take about six months. As a result, the United States will remove all obligations under the Treaty, which, among other things, will allow them to develop and put into service new missile systems.
Aircraft missile AGM-158 JASSM - one of the reasons for criticism in the direction of the United States. Photo of Wikimedia Commons
Apparently, the INF Treaty is doomed, and no action by the parties will save it. For many years, Russia and the United States have been exchanging accusations, as well as rejecting other people's statements. In other circumstances, the result of all this would be the rejection of the charges and the normalization of relations. However, Washington does not intend to stop the confrontation on the issue of the Treaty. Moreover, the United States seems to have long ago decided on its position and is willing to withdraw from the agreement "under a specious excuse."
In general, the current situation around the INF Treaty develops exclusively in the field of politics and almost does not affect the military-technical sphere. The various types of missile weapons and other systems mentioned in the context of the Treaty were, in essence, a reason for criticism in order to solve pressing political problems. Moreover, in the distant past, the charges did without even specifying specific samples. This explains the fact that the publication of data on various weapons did not affect the position of the second side. A vivid example of this could be observed the other day, when the US ignored the briefing on the 9М729 rocket and the data read on it.
The United States and Russia continue to accuse each other of violating the Treaty on the Elimination of Medium and Small-Range Missiles, while simultaneously rejecting the claims of the other side. At the same time, everything suggests that both countries tried to abide by the agreement or, at a minimum, create the appearance of it. However, in the current situation, official Washington does not consider it necessary for the INF Treaty, and therefore has a policy aimed at getting out of it. By the end of the year, the United States is going to finally withdraw from the Treaty, which, among other things, will allow them to create new models of weapons and equipment. And here political issues will again give way to events in the military-technical sphere. How these processes will affect the relations of the two countries and the international situation as a whole is a big question.
On the materials of the sites:
http://mil.ru/
https://tass.ru/
https://rg.ru/
https://ria.ru/
https://zvezdaweekly.ru/
https://globalsecurity.org/
https://fas.org/
https://janes.com/
It should be noted that the discussion of alleged violations began long before official statements by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, about withdrawing from the Treaty. A few years ago, the American side accused the Russian authorities of creating promising types of weapons, contrary to the conditions of the INF. Moscow denied these accusations, and soon made counterclaims to Washington. Recall what the two countries blamed each other for and how they rejected such suspicions.
USA vs Russia
Present story with regular mutual accusations and excuses began about ten years ago. At the end of the last decade, representatives of the American leadership began to mention some violations of the INF Treaty by Russia. At the same time, for a long time they spoke only about the fact of the existence of violations, without going into details. Specific information about the types of products, projects or tests that are contrary to the Treaty was not called at first.
Launch of the Iskander 9М728 cruise missile. Photo of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation / mil.ru
Russia reacted to such accusations in an obvious way. Claims from “unofficial” sources were simply ignored, and statements by representatives of the American state received a harsh response. Moscow argued that it does not create or test any systems that violate the INF. In addition, there was a lack of specific data - this was interpreted as a lack of evidence of violations.
In 2013, first in the press, and then in open official documents, specific names appeared. With reference to sources in intelligence structures, the American press wrote about the beginning of tests of the Rubezh ballistic missile RS-26. The media learned that the launches of such missiles are carried out at the Kapustin Yar proving ground, and training targets are located at the Sary-Shagan proving ground. The length of such a route is within the limits of the Treaty. This fact was considered a violation.
Press information interested American politicians. In the autumn of the same year, a group of senators appealed to the State Department and demanded to respond to the alleged violations of the INF. The accusations were again voiced, and this time, unlike the previous ones, the names and indices of the products were present in them.
The Russian side responded to these events in an interesting way. It soon became known that the PC-26 rocket has a range of more than 5500 km and can be considered intercontinental. Thus, it does not belong to the class of medium-range missiles, and therefore does not violate the INF Treaty. In the future, the theme of the Rubezh missile was repeatedly raised at the highest level, but, in general, did not have much impact on the political situation. In March, the 2018 of the PC-26 product in general ceased to be a cause for criticism. Russian media have learned that the project "Frontier" is excluded from the new state armament program for 2018-27 years. Thus, the United States lost one of its arguments against Russia.
The first public demonstration of the "controversial" 9М729 rocket. Photo of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation / mil.ru
In the middle of 2014, for the first time, charges of violating the INF have been heard at the highest level. US President Barack Obama sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin stating violations alleged in the past. It was alleged that US intelligence was able to find out about the testing of some ground-based cruise missile with a range of more than 500 km. Later it became known that we are talking about the product with the index 9М729.
The product 9М729 became the formal reason for the collection of the Special Control Commission of the INF Treaty in 2016, and later turned out to be the main argument from the United States. The main accusations against Russia are connected with 2014 of the year and so far with the 9М729 rocket. On the basis of such accusations, the United States is now building its position, and in accordance with the latter are making plans for the future. Last fall, the American leadership, while continuing to insist on its accusations, announced its intention to withdraw from the Treaty. In the future, Washington urged Moscow to abandon the 9М729 missiles or to provide full information about these weapons.
On January 23, the Russian Ministry of Defense responded in detail to the allegations related to the 9М729 rocket. During the special briefing, representatives of the military department told about the origin of this product, identified its differences and named the main characteristics. It was emphasized that such a briefing and demonstration of a real rocket are an example of particular transparency that exceeds the requirements of the INF.
According to Russian data, the 9М729 is a modernized version of the existing 9М728 cruise missile of the Iskander complex and is distinguished by its onboard equipment. Due to the renewal of the design, the rocket became longer, and the flight range was reduced to 480 km. For the new missile had to develop an upgraded launcher. It is distinguished from the base Iskander machine by the ability to transport twice the ammunition and carries four missiles at once.
The design and characteristics of the 9М728 and 9М729 cruise missiles. Photo of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation / mil.ru
The Defense Ministry briefing was attended by representatives of many countries, but the United States and its main allies showed no interest in this event. Later, the American embassy called the briefing "another attempt to hide the violation." Apparently, Washington does not intend to listen to the Russian arguments and is going to further advance its position. How events will develop around the rocket 9М729 - will be known in the coming days.
Russia vs USA
From the very beginning, Russia took a tough stance and began to reject all accusations from the United States, and this was not too difficult due to the weakness of the American position. Soon Moscow "went on the offensive" and began to make counterclaims. Indeed, there are quite a few facts in the activities of the United States that may look like violations of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles. Such arguments are still being used, and Washington is in no hurry to confess to its violations.
Russia's main complaint is about missile defense deployments in Eastern Europe. In Romania and Poland, Aegis Ashore missile defense complexes have already been built and put on duty. It is planned to modernize these complexes, as well as to deploy new similar facilities near the Russian borders. The Aegis Eshor complex includes a surveillance and guidance radar, a combat information and control system, and a Mk 41 universal launcher. All of these components were borrowed from existing US Navy surface ships.
According to official data, Aegis Ashore launchers can only use SM-2 and SM-3 anti-aircraft missiles. Other ship armaments, allegedly, cannot be used on land Mk 41 due to the lack of some devices and software. Nevertheless, Russia doubts the veracity of official information. Even before the new complexes were put on duty, Moscow said that deployable launchers could use BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles. This weapon has a range of more than 1000 km, and therefore its placement on land installations contradicts the INF range. Thus, during the construction of missile defense ground systems, the US side secretly violated the Treaty.
Missile defense complex Aegis Ahsore at the Romanian air base Deveselu. Photos News.usni.org
Official Washington is expected to reject this accusation. It is argued that in the development of the land version of the ship complex, measures were taken to preclude the use of cruise missiles. The two countries are still exchanging statements in the context of using Aegis Ashore as a shock tool, but have not yet reached a common opinion. Russia continues to blame, and the United States once again denies its guilt.
In 2013, another start to criticize the actions of the United States was the launch of the AGM-158B JASSM-ER cruise air-launched missile test. This product is intended for use by strike aircraft and shows a range of slightly less than 1000 km. The first tests of the missiles were carried out without the use of aircraft: the products were launched from a ground-based launcher. This fact became a reason for criticism in the context of the INF Treaty. However, Washington denied the charges and pointed out the nature of the project. Despite tests using ground systems, the JASSM-ER rocket is still intended for combat aircraft.
For some time now, statements by Russian officials have cited foreign unmanned aerial vehicles as a possible violation of the INF Treaty. The United States has many types of such equipment in service, and some of these vehicles are capable of carrying weapons for striking ground targets. In terms of their flight performance, UAVs of medium and heavy class are similar to modern cruise missiles. In addition, with the help of guided bombs or missiles, they can strike at ground targets. A number of American drones has a range of more than 500 km.
BGM-109G Gryphon missile system with a Tomahawk missile. Decommissioned in accordance with the INF. Photo US Army
Thus, formally not being land-based cruise missiles, modern UAVs can solve similar combat missions. At the same time, the drone, unlike a rocket, is capable of making far more than one sortie. In the INF Treaty, unmanned aerial vehicles were not mentioned, and it in no way limits their development. Nevertheless, such a technique is to a certain extent similar to the products, the creation and operation of which are prohibited. This allows the Russian side to make transparent hints and talk about the violation of the spirit of the Treaty in the formal observance of its conditions.
US denies trial allegations aviation rockets on the ground and the production of unmanned aerial vehicles. There is a curious reaction here. Foreign experts note that such events indicate the weaknesses of the INF Treaty. This agreement was drawn up three decades ago, taking into account existing technologies and weapons. It was actually written for specific types of weapons and almost did not take into account the progress of future years. The ban on medium and short-range missiles, as well as the need to develop other areas, leads to the observed consequences. The parties to the Treaty find various loopholes through which they can accuse the opponent of violations.
United States v. Treaty
A few days ago, the leadership of the United States announced its plans for the near future in the context of the Treaty on the Elimination of Medium and Small-Range Missiles. Since Russia does not want to recognize or eliminate its "violations", Washington will unilaterally withdraw from the agreement. The exit process starts on February 2 and will take about six months. As a result, the United States will remove all obligations under the Treaty, which, among other things, will allow them to develop and put into service new missile systems.
Aircraft missile AGM-158 JASSM - one of the reasons for criticism in the direction of the United States. Photo of Wikimedia Commons
Apparently, the INF Treaty is doomed, and no action by the parties will save it. For many years, Russia and the United States have been exchanging accusations, as well as rejecting other people's statements. In other circumstances, the result of all this would be the rejection of the charges and the normalization of relations. However, Washington does not intend to stop the confrontation on the issue of the Treaty. Moreover, the United States seems to have long ago decided on its position and is willing to withdraw from the agreement "under a specious excuse."
In general, the current situation around the INF Treaty develops exclusively in the field of politics and almost does not affect the military-technical sphere. The various types of missile weapons and other systems mentioned in the context of the Treaty were, in essence, a reason for criticism in order to solve pressing political problems. Moreover, in the distant past, the charges did without even specifying specific samples. This explains the fact that the publication of data on various weapons did not affect the position of the second side. A vivid example of this could be observed the other day, when the US ignored the briefing on the 9М729 rocket and the data read on it.
The United States and Russia continue to accuse each other of violating the Treaty on the Elimination of Medium and Small-Range Missiles, while simultaneously rejecting the claims of the other side. At the same time, everything suggests that both countries tried to abide by the agreement or, at a minimum, create the appearance of it. However, in the current situation, official Washington does not consider it necessary for the INF Treaty, and therefore has a policy aimed at getting out of it. By the end of the year, the United States is going to finally withdraw from the Treaty, which, among other things, will allow them to create new models of weapons and equipment. And here political issues will again give way to events in the military-technical sphere. How these processes will affect the relations of the two countries and the international situation as a whole is a big question.
On the materials of the sites:
http://mil.ru/
https://tass.ru/
https://rg.ru/
https://ria.ru/
https://zvezdaweekly.ru/
https://globalsecurity.org/
https://fas.org/
https://janes.com/
Information