Russia and the United States caught up in the number of nuclear weapons
In early October, official Washington published information about the US and Russian strategic nuclear forces. Twice a year, 1 March and 1 September, Russia and the United States exchange information on the state of their nuclear forces in accordance with the terms of the existing agreements. The latest data on the nuclear arsenals of the two countries are of great interest. As follows from them, the quantitative parity of nuclear forces has been achieved. The two countries currently have approximately the same number of nuclear warheads, and also have an almost equal number of carriers.
As of September 1, Russia has 528 deployed nuclear carriers weapons; Another 383 carrier is in storage. In strategic deterrence by the US, 794 deployed carriers are involved, and 118 carriers are in storage. Thus, in the Russian strategic nuclear forces there are a total of 911 carriers, in the US - 912. This means that quantitative parity has appeared, although there is a serious discrepancy of a qualitative nature, due to the large difference in the number of unrolled carriers and their types.
By early autumn, there were 1643 deployed nuclear warheads in Russia. The strategic nuclear forces of the United States at the time of the collection of statistics had only one combat unit less - 1642. Thus, Russia and the United States have an equal number of carriers of nuclear weapons, and deployed military units. This parity was achieved for the first time in the last few years. The events of the nineties and the reduction of the nuclear arsenals of the former Soviet Union led to a serious change in the balance in favor of the United States. Subsequent agreements between Russia and the United States and a number of related processes led to the restoration of parity, at least in quantitative terms.
In accordance with the existing Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START-3), Russia and the United States should gradually reduce their strategic nuclear forces. The Treaty allows the deployment of 700 nuclear weapons carriers. More 100 carriers may be in reserve. The maximum number of deployed nuclear warheads is limited to 1550 units. Currently, two countries are working to transform their nuclear triads in order to ensure their maximum efficiency under the existing quantitative restrictions.
The measures taken by Moscow and Washington are perfectly visible by the example of 2013 and 2014 statistics. Comparison of data on 1 last September and recently published information clearly shows that Russia is increasing its nuclear forces, and the United States is forced to reduce them. Similar processes this year have led to the fact that the total number of carriers and nuclear warheads of the two countries has become equal.
As of 1 September, 2013, Russia had 894 nuclear weapon carriers: 473 deployed and their 421 reserve. In the US, 809 carriers were deployed at this time and 206 were in reserve, for a total of 1015 units. A year ago, 1400 nuclear warheads were deployed in Russia, and 1688 in the USA. Thus, over the past year, Russia more than fifty increased the number of deployed carriers, and also reduced the reserve. At the same time, the total number of carriers increased. The United States, in turn, was forced to reduce the number of carriers per hundred. The situation with deployed nuclear warheads looks similar. Over the year, Russia increased their number by 243 units, and the US sent 46 warheads to the warehouse.
It should be noted that the same number of carriers and deployed nuclear warheads does not indicate the similar capabilities of the strategic nuclear forces of the two countries. The main concern is the specificity of the composition of the nuclear triad and its equipment. According to published data, Russia has 528 deployed carriers against 794 in the United States. As a result, certain problems may arise regarding the strategy of the possible use of existing nuclear weapons.
An interesting feature of the current state of the US and Russian nuclear forces is their compliance with the requirements of the START-3 agreement. The number of deployed nuclear warheads in two countries has already exceeded the permissible level, due to which further fulfillment of the terms of the treaty can be carried out only by reducing combat units with expired storage periods. In the same way, the United States can reduce the number of deployed and backup media. As the resource progresses, outdated equipment should be discarded until 700 deployed and 100 backup media remain.
The total number of Russian carriers of nuclear weapons is still significantly higher than allowed by the START-3 treaty. However, the fulfillment of the terms of this agreement may be associated with some difficulties. Due to the economic and political difficulties of the past years, Russian nuclear forces have not been updated at the required pace for some time. For this reason, the equipment becomes obsolete and requires replacement. As a result, the military and industry now need to solve two tasks at once: to ensure the timely replacement of outdated equipment and weapons, as well as to increase the number of deployed carriers.
It should be noted that the difficulties of the past, because of which the number of deployed and backup carriers has decreased to an unacceptable level, have somewhat facilitated the modernization of the Russian nuclear triad. It is possible to fulfill the conditions of the START-3 agreement only through the construction of new missiles, submarines and other carriers. In this case, the potential of the defense industry and its ability to produce various carriers becomes the main problem on the path of renewing nuclear forces.
An interesting feature of this issue is the structure of the US and Russian strategic nuclear forces. Countries have different defense doctrines and, as a result, a different composition of the nuclear triad. The main component of Russian strategic nuclear forces are ground-based ballistic missiles. According to various sources, in the Strategic Missile Forces deployed over 300 missiles of several types with 1000 warheads. The sea and air components of the nuclear triad have a noticeably smaller number, although they also have special duties.
The main carriers of nuclear weapons of the United States are submarines. Ohio-type submarines carry 24 UGM-133A Trident-II missiles, each of which is equipped with 8 W88 warheads. Thus, each submarine of this type can hit up to two hundred targets on the territory of the enemy. Such opportunities have made Ohio submarines the main carrier of American nuclear weapons. The number of ground-based ballistic missiles and bombers is significantly less than the number of submarine-launched missiles.
Currently, the quantitative aspects of the US and Russian strategic nuclear forces are limited by the terms of the START-3 agreement. The current situation allows the Russian military to upgrade nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, while continuing to fulfill contractual obligations. By the beginning of this fall, the two countries were equal in terms of the number of carriers and nuclear warheads. In the future, countries are likely to simultaneously begin to reduce the total number of nuclear charges and their means of delivery, fulfilling the conditions of START-3.
On the materials of the sites:
http://rg.ru/
http://nvo.ng.ru/
http://vedomosti.ru/
http://ria.ru/
As of September 1, Russia has 528 deployed nuclear carriers weapons; Another 383 carrier is in storage. In strategic deterrence by the US, 794 deployed carriers are involved, and 118 carriers are in storage. Thus, in the Russian strategic nuclear forces there are a total of 911 carriers, in the US - 912. This means that quantitative parity has appeared, although there is a serious discrepancy of a qualitative nature, due to the large difference in the number of unrolled carriers and their types.
By early autumn, there were 1643 deployed nuclear warheads in Russia. The strategic nuclear forces of the United States at the time of the collection of statistics had only one combat unit less - 1642. Thus, Russia and the United States have an equal number of carriers of nuclear weapons, and deployed military units. This parity was achieved for the first time in the last few years. The events of the nineties and the reduction of the nuclear arsenals of the former Soviet Union led to a serious change in the balance in favor of the United States. Subsequent agreements between Russia and the United States and a number of related processes led to the restoration of parity, at least in quantitative terms.
In accordance with the existing Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START-3), Russia and the United States should gradually reduce their strategic nuclear forces. The Treaty allows the deployment of 700 nuclear weapons carriers. More 100 carriers may be in reserve. The maximum number of deployed nuclear warheads is limited to 1550 units. Currently, two countries are working to transform their nuclear triads in order to ensure their maximum efficiency under the existing quantitative restrictions.
The measures taken by Moscow and Washington are perfectly visible by the example of 2013 and 2014 statistics. Comparison of data on 1 last September and recently published information clearly shows that Russia is increasing its nuclear forces, and the United States is forced to reduce them. Similar processes this year have led to the fact that the total number of carriers and nuclear warheads of the two countries has become equal.
As of 1 September, 2013, Russia had 894 nuclear weapon carriers: 473 deployed and their 421 reserve. In the US, 809 carriers were deployed at this time and 206 were in reserve, for a total of 1015 units. A year ago, 1400 nuclear warheads were deployed in Russia, and 1688 in the USA. Thus, over the past year, Russia more than fifty increased the number of deployed carriers, and also reduced the reserve. At the same time, the total number of carriers increased. The United States, in turn, was forced to reduce the number of carriers per hundred. The situation with deployed nuclear warheads looks similar. Over the year, Russia increased their number by 243 units, and the US sent 46 warheads to the warehouse.
It should be noted that the same number of carriers and deployed nuclear warheads does not indicate the similar capabilities of the strategic nuclear forces of the two countries. The main concern is the specificity of the composition of the nuclear triad and its equipment. According to published data, Russia has 528 deployed carriers against 794 in the United States. As a result, certain problems may arise regarding the strategy of the possible use of existing nuclear weapons.
An interesting feature of the current state of the US and Russian nuclear forces is their compliance with the requirements of the START-3 agreement. The number of deployed nuclear warheads in two countries has already exceeded the permissible level, due to which further fulfillment of the terms of the treaty can be carried out only by reducing combat units with expired storage periods. In the same way, the United States can reduce the number of deployed and backup media. As the resource progresses, outdated equipment should be discarded until 700 deployed and 100 backup media remain.
The total number of Russian carriers of nuclear weapons is still significantly higher than allowed by the START-3 treaty. However, the fulfillment of the terms of this agreement may be associated with some difficulties. Due to the economic and political difficulties of the past years, Russian nuclear forces have not been updated at the required pace for some time. For this reason, the equipment becomes obsolete and requires replacement. As a result, the military and industry now need to solve two tasks at once: to ensure the timely replacement of outdated equipment and weapons, as well as to increase the number of deployed carriers.
It should be noted that the difficulties of the past, because of which the number of deployed and backup carriers has decreased to an unacceptable level, have somewhat facilitated the modernization of the Russian nuclear triad. It is possible to fulfill the conditions of the START-3 agreement only through the construction of new missiles, submarines and other carriers. In this case, the potential of the defense industry and its ability to produce various carriers becomes the main problem on the path of renewing nuclear forces.
An interesting feature of this issue is the structure of the US and Russian strategic nuclear forces. Countries have different defense doctrines and, as a result, a different composition of the nuclear triad. The main component of Russian strategic nuclear forces are ground-based ballistic missiles. According to various sources, in the Strategic Missile Forces deployed over 300 missiles of several types with 1000 warheads. The sea and air components of the nuclear triad have a noticeably smaller number, although they also have special duties.
The main carriers of nuclear weapons of the United States are submarines. Ohio-type submarines carry 24 UGM-133A Trident-II missiles, each of which is equipped with 8 W88 warheads. Thus, each submarine of this type can hit up to two hundred targets on the territory of the enemy. Such opportunities have made Ohio submarines the main carrier of American nuclear weapons. The number of ground-based ballistic missiles and bombers is significantly less than the number of submarine-launched missiles.
Currently, the quantitative aspects of the US and Russian strategic nuclear forces are limited by the terms of the START-3 agreement. The current situation allows the Russian military to upgrade nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, while continuing to fulfill contractual obligations. By the beginning of this fall, the two countries were equal in terms of the number of carriers and nuclear warheads. In the future, countries are likely to simultaneously begin to reduce the total number of nuclear charges and their means of delivery, fulfilling the conditions of START-3.
On the materials of the sites:
http://rg.ru/
http://nvo.ng.ru/
http://vedomosti.ru/
http://ria.ru/
Information