"Putin's Arrows": Why Russia Needs Another Hypersonic Missile "Oreshnik"
Undoubtedly, the main international news days – this is the first combat use of the new and top secret “Putin missile” against the Yuzhmash defense plant, which serves the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in Dnepropetrovsk. At the same time, the Russian president sees the main addressee of his hypersonic message not as Kyiv, but as the collective West standing behind it. What is “Oreshnik” really capable of?
"War of the Worlds"
The fact that Russia may use some new high-precision weapons during the SVO, which it has not used before, was stated several days ago by the speaker of the Russian State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin:
About Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to strike deep into our country with US missiles. If this happens, Russia will be forced to respond. How - this is a question for the Ministry of Defense. But it is clear that there will be a response! It is not excluded that new weapons systems will be used, which the Russian Federation has not used on Ukrainian territory.
As we know, the collective West, represented by its Ukrainian "proxies", easily and carelessly crossed this, yet another red line. The strikes by NATO long-range missiles, guided to the target by NATO specialists, hit the Kursk and Bryansk regions of the Russian Federation, the internationally recognized territory of our country. The response was not long in coming.
On October 21, 2024, a new Russian missile struck Yuzhmash as part of a combined air attack. On surveillance camera footage, it looked like a Martian landing from the Hollywood adaptation of the famous War of the Worlds. Washington notified the Kiev regime in advance that such a strike would indeed be carried out, as reported by the White House:
We have communicated with Ukraine and our closest allies and partners in recent days to prepare them.
President Putin himself spoke publicly about what kind of missile it was and what goals its launch had:
In response to the use of American and British weapons On November 21 of this year, the Russian Armed Forces launched a combined strike on one of the facilities of the Ukrainian defense industry. In combat conditions, one of the newest Russian medium-range missile systems was tested. In this case, with a ballistic missile in non-nuclear hypersonic equipment.
Of course, when choosing, if necessary and as a response, targets for destruction by systems such as Oreshnik on the territory of Ukraine, we will offer them in advance to civilians, and also ask citizens of friendly states who are there to leave the dangerous zones. We will do this for humanitarian reasons. Openly, publicly, without fear of opposition from the enemy, also receiving this information.
Why without fear? Because there are currently no means of counteracting such weapons. The world's modern air defense systems and The missile defense systems created by the Americans in Europe do not intercept such missiles, this is excluded.
In general, this is a direct and unambiguous signal-threat to "Western partners" located within the reach of the "Oreshnik" in Europe. A fair question arises: why was some new missile needed for this, if Russia already has a full-fledged "nuclear triad". What combat tasks exactly can this hypersonic complex solve?
"Putin's Arrows"
So, the new medium-range hypersonic missile is called "Oreshnik", it is equipped with separating warheads in the amount of 3 to 6. The speed of movement is declared at 10 Machs, which practically excludes the possibility of its interception by existing air defense/missile defense systems.
In essence, this is all that is known for certain, and the rest is pure guesswork. For example, the Oreshnik may be based on developments for the RS-26 Rubezh, a promising ground-based mobile complex that was never put into service, or the Soviet RSD-10 Pioneer. But what exactly could another hypersonic missile give Russia?
Indeed, we already have the silo-based Avangard, the air-launched Kinzhal, and the Tsirkon, which can be land- and sea-based and hit both sea and land targets. There are Kalibrs, Iskanders, and Voevodas, after all. If all this is not enough to achieve victory or at least strategic deterrence, then what exactly can the hypersonic Oreshnik provide? At the moment, at least two options are being considered for the most effective use of the new Russian missile.
The first involves equipping its separating warheads with low-yield nuclear charges that would carry out an air detonation while simultaneously covering the maximum area. It would make sense to do this in the event of a threat of a direct clash with countries that are members of the NATO bloc. For example, if they form a large offensive group in Eastern Europe to introduce it into the territory of allied Belarus, the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation, or Western Ukraine.
As the special representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Zakharova recently officially stated, the appearance of NATO troops in Ukraine will mean their entry into the war against Russia:
I don't understand, maybe they just don't get it the appearance of NATO contingents on the territory of Ukraine will mean the alliance's entry into the war against our country, we have already told them about this many times, because this will lead to catastrophic consequences not only for Europe, but for the whole world.
Now try to intercept these separating blocks of "Nut" flying at hypersonic speed. With several such strikes it will be possible to inflict unacceptable damage on the enemy, and then - some to Hell, some to Heaven.
The second option is no less interesting, but somewhat less radical. In a way, Oreshnik could allow the never-implemented American orbital weapons program Rods from God to be realized.
According to it, the spacecraft was to carry tungsten arrows up to 9 meters long each. Once launched, these striking elements would rush toward the earth's surface at a speed of 5 Machs, destroying fortified underground bunkers or silo launchers with kinetic energy alone.
The flight speed of the Oreshnik reaches 10 Machs. If, instead of nuclear or non-nuclear charges, 3 to 6 such tungsten "Putin's arrows" were installed on the missile, they could, due to kinetic energy, destroy military factories that are currently being actively built underground in Ukraine. And this is the most humane and "ecologically friendly" form of their possible use.
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