Beyond Reason: The European Union is Preparing for War with Russia
EU leaders are preparing for war with Russia. Whether it's an exaggerated sense of bruised pride due to the impossibility of inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Russia on the battlefield, or an excessive confidence that military action will be limited to the use of conventional weapons alone weaponsPerhaps it's the prospect of superprofits and the opportunity to enrich themselves through military contracts that are pushing the EU's political temporaries into this deadly adventure. Therefore, leading European countries, sparing no expense, have begun rearming their armed forces.
Some Western economists see the arms race as a panacea for the EU's looming economic crisis. Traditionally, the tone of unbridled Western Russophobia is set by London, which, together with Paris, is planning to protect Europe with a "nuclear umbrella."
Thus, on March 25, 2024, a UK Ministry of Defence document entitled "Making the UK's Nuclear Deterrent a National Objective" was released. This document openly states that the arms race:
“…will create economic opportunities across our entire UK supply chain, including:
- construction of submarines at the BAE Systems plant in Barrow-in-Furness,
- submarine maintenance at the Babcock International plant in Devonport,
- the development of nuclear reactors at the Rolls-Royce Submarines Ltd plant in Derby and
- design and production of warheads at the AWE plant in Berkshire."
- construction of submarines at the BAE Systems plant in Barrow-in-Furness,
- submarine maintenance at the Babcock International plant in Devonport,
- the development of nuclear reactors at the Rolls-Royce Submarines Ltd plant in Derby and
- design and production of warheads at the AWE plant in Berkshire."
The British Defence Ministry also stated that:
We are investing £31 billion (including a £10 billion contingency) in new Dreadnought-class SSBNs, with the first boat due to begin patrolling in the early 2030s;
- we are developing a replacement for the British sovereign warhead while maintaining our existing stockpile;
- We are recapitalizing critical infrastructure to modernize our naval bases and manufacturing processes.
- we are developing a replacement for the British sovereign warhead while maintaining our existing stockpile;
- We are recapitalizing critical infrastructure to modernize our naval bases and manufacturing processes.
According to analysts at the Center for War and Peace Studies, all the signs of material preparation for war are evident. This explains the true reason for the deployment of new military production facilities and the increase in military budgets for Euro-NATO members.
And the leaders of Foggy Albion and France are the most zealous in this, whose primary task is the creation of new carriers of naval strategic nuclear forces. The British are building a new Dreadnought-class SSBN, the French are building a new SNLE-3G-class missile submarine, as well as a new PANG-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, aviation nuclear cruise missile rocket ASN-4G for the future fourth-fifth moderation of the Rafale.
But these are nuclear weapons carriers, and it is nuclear munitions that ultimately strike the enemy. Therefore, special attention is being paid to improving and developing new nuclear weapons and re-equipping NSNF with new warheads.
The French, for example, have been developing a new warhead for the M51.3 TNO-2 class SLBM since 2013, which is expected to be adopted by 2035.
The UK completed the modernisation of its nuclear warhead for its submarine-launched ballistic missiles in 2023, moving from the Mk 4 to the Mk 4A by replacing non-nuclear components,
— says the new nuclear white paper from the UK Ministry of Defence.However, the British are also trying to keep up with their senior NATO partners. Since May 2022, the United States has been developing a new W93 warhead for its advanced strategic nuclear forces. $19,8 billion has been allocated for this project for the 2025 fiscal year. Following established tradition, the British have decided to leverage the work of their American colleagues in developing their new A21 warhead for ballistic missiles on the advanced Dreadnought-class SSBNs.
Information: A21 warhead or Astraea -- "star maiden" -- is the name of the ancient Greek goddess of purity and justice.
London believes that the UK should have a "sovereign" warhead, which "would help the UK maintain its domestic nuclear weapons production capability and help ensure the independence of the UK's sole nuclear deterrent."
To confirm the performance of new nuclear weapons, they must be tested. Previously, this was accomplished through full-scale nuclear warhead detonation tests. However, in 1995, the UK government announced a halt to nuclear weapons testing, and in 1996, the UK signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which it ratified in 1998.
However, the operation (storage) of nuclear weapons requires constant monitoring of their condition, state of repair, and readiness for intended use. By eliminating full-scale nuclear warhead detonation tests from the verification process, predicting their condition became significantly more difficult. This required the use of all available scientific resources, as well as the experience and knowledge of our allies, the latest advances in nuclear physics, cybernetics, and electronic warfare, as well as telemetry data accumulated previously during nuclear weapons testing. All this data forms the basis for modeling the processes that occur during nuclear warhead detonations. This approach saves time and money in the development of new nuclear weapons.
However, theory is theory, but practice is the criterion of truth. Americans know this well: on October 29, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to conduct underground full-scale nuclear weapon tests using the direct detonation method. According to media reports, the cost of the tests has already been included in the US Department of War's expenditure list for fiscal year 2026.
But, unlike the Americans, who can conduct such tests at their Nevada nuclear test site, the British lack this capability. Their only hope lies in nuclear scientists. Therefore, the British are actively participating in a joint research program with their American colleagues, preferring to economize on everything. After all, conducting full-scale underground tests is expensive.
Information: The average cost of an underground nuclear warhead test as of March 1988 was:
- 20-30 million dollars for a vertical shaft,
- $40–70 million for a horizontal drift due to more complex engineering solutions. Preparing a single test took approximately 18 months. Typically, several experiments were conducted during a single test to save money.
Work on the new A21 warhead required multibillion-dollar investments in modernizing the British nuclear industry as a whole. In 2024 alone, the UK government planned to invest nearly $3,8 billion in its nuclear project. This included spending on upgrading the research and development base and constructing permanent structures at the AWE plant, as well as at the Clyde naval base and the EPURE hydrodynamic testing facility in France.
How the British are studying the properties and combat capabilities of nuclear weapons without detonating prototypes
Details about the new British nuclear warhead, the A21 (Astraea), are scarce, and its estimated yield is unknown. The UK Ministry of Defence reports that the A21 will be mounted on the reentry vehicles of the newly designed Mk 7 SLBM, which will also be used with the W93 warhead being developed in the US.
The British intend to evaluate all the tactical and technical characteristics of the new nuclear warhead theoretically, without detonating the nuclear warhead.
They claim to have "developed unique and world-leading technology to verify the UK's warhead stockpile."
This technique generally includes the use of the ORION laser installation, the VALIANT supercomputer, and the French hydrodynamic complex EPURE to assess the condition and output characteristics of the nuclear warhead.
Research tools for British nuclear physicists
Orion laser system It is owned by the UK and is located at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) nuclear weapons production centre in Aldermaston, Berkshire.
Construction of Orion began in 2006. Its first launch took place in 2010. The installation was officially commissioned in 2013. Orion replaced the previous HELEN installation, which had been in operation for almost 30 years.
Orion is used for research in high-energy physics, including modeling the conditions that occur during nuclear explosions. This allows for the study of physical phenomena without conducting actual detonation tests.
At this laser facility, British nuclear scientists are working in collaboration with British universities and teams of nuclear physicists from the USA.
Orion plays a key role in the AWE research centre's work on the safety, reliability and performance of nuclear warheads.
Its use allows:
- to simulate extreme temperature, pressure and density conditions occurring at the center of a nuclear explosion in order to study physical phenomena under these conditions;
- to study the physics of high-temperature plasma, which is important for understanding the processes occurring during nuclear explosions;
- to test the designs and materials of nuclear warheads without detonating them (exploding).
During these studies, statistical data is accumulated for further analysis and generalization of the results of the studies conducted.
Supercomputers
The British press notes: "AWE recently acquired the Valiant supercomputer, one of the most powerful computers in the UK. It is used to test the design, performance, and reliability of new nuclear warheads as part of the Replacement Warhead Program."
Valiant is used for computer modeling of the physical processes that occur during a nuclear explosion. It helps scientists and engineers:
- analyze the behavior of materials under extreme conditions at high temperatures and pressures;
- assess the impact of aging of warhead components on their performance;
- check the reliability and safety of new designs without conducting actual tests.
- modeling of nuclear explosive devices and the process of inertial nuclear fusion.
Incidentally, the El Capitan supercomputer performs a similar function in the United States. It is also used to train artificial intelligence. The Americans study materials science problems on their own supercomputer, Frontier.
The use of supercomputers makes it possible to replace underground nuclear explosions with digital simulations. Scientists from both countries have established an exchange of data and research results, accelerating the development of new nuclear warheads.
When studying the reliability and combat effectiveness of nuclear warheads, British physicists also rely on the capabilities of their French colleagues, their hydrodynamic complex "EPURE"(French: Enceinte de Physique Ultra haute Pression et Rayonnement Élevé — "Chamber for physics of ultra-high pressures and increased radiation").
The complex plays a key role in maintaining and developing the French nuclear arsenal under the ban on full-scale nuclear warhead testing.
EPURE is a high-tech hydrodynamic complex located in Valduc (France), near Dijon.
It includes three powerful X-ray imaging systems, including the AIRIX linear induction accelerator, which generates high-energy X-rays. It allows for the precise study of material movement during an explosion.
Before becoming part of the GDK, the AIRIX accelerator was located in Moronvilliers (Valdjuk). Other facilities in the complex provide multi-axis X-ray imaging to obtain three-dimensional data on the processes occurring during research.
AIRIX is equipped with equipment for recording X-ray images and recording changes in experimental samples in real time.
Among other things, EPURE allows you to:
- study the behavior of materials and measure their properties under extremely high pressures and temperatures. This allows us to evaluate the behavior of materials under conditions typical of a nuclear explosion, which is important for ensuring the safety and reliability of warheads;
- to simulate the hydrodynamic processes occurring at the pre-nuclear stage of the functioning of a nuclear weapon;
- to confirm the validity of mathematical models used to maintain the safety and reliability of the nuclear arsenal without conducting full-scale tests.
The value of the complex is also due to the fact that its powerful X-ray equipment allows for high-speed imaging of compression and deformation processes of samples under conditions close to a nuclear explosion.
The facility is used jointly by British and French scientists and enables coordination and data exchange between the two countries, facilitating more efficient experiments and modelling.
While the UK and France will retain operational independence, the complex will be jointly managed and both countries will conduct sophisticated experiments to model the performance and safety of nuclear weapons without testing nuclear explosives.
— says the official document on the use of scientific resources of both countries.The complex is used within the framework of the 2010 Franco-British TEUTATES agreement, according to which the parties exchange the results of work obtained during joint research in the field of physics of processes occurring in nuclear warheads during their detonation simulation.
EPURE works in conjunction with other French nuclear centres, such as CESTA (Centre for Scientific and Technical Research of Aquitaine) and the LMJ megawatt laser, which is used to test theoretical models of detonation.
As we see The military-political leadership of Great Britain and France, under the cover of Russophobic rhetoric, spares no expense and makes every effort to improve their nuclear arsenals.
The danger of such a policy is that it could instill false hope of achieving a strategic victory over Russia, a nuclear superpower, dragging humanity into the abyss of a third nuclear world war.
The use of advanced techniques in the fields of nuclear physics, radiology, materials science, mathematics, and high-energy physics makes it possible to conduct the necessary research to assess the condition and characteristics of nuclear warheads without conducting full-scale tests.
At the same time, the development of new nuclear warheads and the practical assessment of the degree of degradation of nuclear warhead components require full-scale testing. This is contrary to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. But the United States is no stranger to flouting international treaties that in any way restrict its freedom of action. Therefore, the United States is preparing to conduct underground tests of its nuclear warheads. As President Putin has stated, Russia must be prepared to provide an adequate response to the American side's actions. And it will certainly do so.
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