ANALYSIS – Russia has reported successfully launching a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from its new generation nuclear submarine.
“The new nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine Imperator Alexander III successfully launched a sea-based intercontinental ballistic missile Bulava from the White Sea,” the Russian defense ministry said on Sunday.
The missile reportedly hit a target thousands of miles away on the Kamchatka peninsula in the Russian Far East.
Meanwhile, the U.S. had to destroy an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM mid-flight while conducting a test due to an ‘anomaly,' highlighting how Russia is rapidly modernizing its nuclear forces, as the U.S. relies on 1960s technology for most of its nuclear weapons systems.
As Axios noted:
Why it matters: The announcement comes three days after Russian leader Vladimir Putin officially revoked the country's ratification of a global ban on nuclear weapons testing amid heightened tensions with the West over his war on Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken said in a statement condemning the withdrawal that the move was part of a “disturbing and misguided effort to heighten nuclear risks and raise tensions as it pursues its illegal war against Ukraine.”
Blinken also said:
Russian officials say Russia's planned move to withdraw its ratification does not mean that it will resume testing, and we urge Moscow to hold to those statements. The United States remains committed to achieving the entry into force of the [Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty], and we reiterate our commitment to our zero-yield nuclear explosive testing moratorium, which has been in place for 30 years.
It is essential that we preserve the global norm against nuclear explosive testing.
But as Air and Space Forces magazine noted, our own nuke forces are falling behind:
…[the] failed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile test has led to new concerns about the age of America's land-based nuclear arsenal.
“It has served our country well and we will continue to depend on it to deter nuclear war until the 2030s, but this week's test is a stark reminder that nothing lasts forever,” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement released on Nov. 3. “We must modernize our aging nuclear deterrent and replace the Minuteman III missile—as well as the rest of our nuclear enterprise—with modern systems.”
The Imperator Alexander III is the seventh of the Russian Project 955 Borei (Arctic Wind) class nuclear submarines and the fourth of the modernized Borei-A variant.
Borei-class boats carry 16 Bulava missiles. The 40-foot-tall missile has a reported range of about 5,000 miles and can carry up to six warheads.
Axios adds another reason why the Russian missile test is significant:
The big picture: Putin has made several veiled nuclear threats since his military launched a full-scare invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, though he later denied he'd use them on the country and said he “only hinted in response to statements made by Western leaders.”
Putin also sent tactical nuclear bombs to Belarus earlier this year.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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