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ssc 8 cruise missile

It was reported by the New York Times on February 14, 2017, that the Russian Federation deployed a new cruise missile, designated as the SSC-8. Though news of the missile’s deployment is recent, knowledge of its development is not. The Obama administration had previously called on the Russian Federation to halt its development of the weapon system, which is believed to be a variant of the 3M-54 Kalibr sea-based missile (NATO: SS-N-27 Sizzler). The Times also noted they believe two battalions in Russia are currently equipped with the SSC-8 system, with one of them stationed at Kapustin Yar (the Russian rocket development and test site).

Russia reportedly tested the SSC-8 in July of 2014 at a distance over the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty’s (INF) 500km ban and then in September 2015 at ranges under 500km. In November 2016, the United States called for a special verification commission to deal with Russia’s alleged INF violation. [i]

Upon formally acknowledging the missiles existence in January of 2019, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed the SSC-8 has a range between 50 and 480 km – INF compliant ranges. The U.S. Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) estimated the missiles actual range is a maximum of 2,500 km. [ii]

Strategic Implications

The combination of a low-yield nuclear warhead and intermediate-range cruise missile is to exploit a gap in U.S./NATO capabilities. Mobile ground launched systems are resistant to a preemptive strike and ruise missiles are increasingly more difficult to defend against. The low-yield nuclear warhead equipped on the SSC-8 is not comparable to any weapon currently deployed by the United States. That means if the SSC-8 were fielded in theater against military assets, the United States and NATO would have no proportional response to an attack. This can weaken allied deterrence capability, lower the threshold for nuclear war, and bolster provocative actions by the Russian Federation.

In response to Russia’s non-compliance, the United States announced it would suspend the fulfillment of its obligations under the INF on February 2 nd ,2019. The United States mandated that if in six months the Russian Federation did not return to the implications of its provisions (i.e. destroy all SSC-8 missiles currently deployed) the United States would formally leave the INF on August 2 nd , 2019. [iii]

ssc 8 cruise missile

June 2019: Defense Ministers of NATO meet and demand that Russia destroy all SSC-8 missiles that are currently deployed

February 2019: The United States sets up the schedule to formally leave the INF on August 2 nd , 2019 if Russia does not destroy all of their missiles that are noncompliant with the treaty.

January 2019:  Russia formally recognized the missile’s existence, but maintains that it does not violate the INF Treaty. Also for the first time, Russia released photos of the SSC-8’s launcher.

February 2017 : The New York Times reports the Russian Federation has deployed the missile system in violation of the INF Treaty [iv]

September 2015:  An additional test of the SSC-8 is reported [v]

July 2014:  President Obama writes to President Putin informing him that the United States has concluded the new Russian missile system violates the IMF Treaty [vi]

January 2014:  The United States informed NATO allies that Russia was in the process of testing a new ground-launched cruise missile and reaffirmed concerns about its compliance with the INF treaty [vii]

2011:  American intelligence officials note there is cause for concern pertaining to the missile’s INF compliance

2008:  It is believed by American officials that the Russians first began to develop the SSC-8 in 2008, unaware of possible INF violations

[i] https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/ssc-8-novator-9m729/

[ii] https://fas.org/blogs/security/2017/08/nasic-2017-corrected/

[iii] http://www.military-today.com/missiles/ssc_x_8.htm

[iv] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/world/europe/russia-cruise-missile-arms-control-treaty.html

[v] http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russia-again-flight-tests-illegal-inf-cruise-missile/

[vi] https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/world/europe/us-says-russia-tested-cruise-missile-in-violation-of-treaty.html?_r=1&mtrref=freebeacon.com&gwh=53420594CD9BE7441301BEEB76F3AC0F&gwt=pay&assetType=nyt_now

[vii] https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/world/europe/us-says-russia-tested-missile-despite-treaty.html?_r=1

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Russia’s Violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty

Office of the Spokesperson

December 4, 2018

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Since 2013, the United States has raised its concerns with Russia regarding Russian development of a ground-launched cruise missile (NATO designator: SSC-8, Russian designator: 9M729) with a range capability between 500 and 5,500 kilometers on repeated occasions. These include more than 30 engagements at all levels of the Russian government.

Russia has repeatedly changed its cover story regarding its violating missile. For more than four years, Russia denied the existence of the missile and provided no information about it, despite the U.S. provision to Russia of the location of the tests and the names of the companies involved in the development and production of the missile. Russia only admitted that the missile existed after we publicly announced the missile system’s Russian designator but claimed that the missile was incapable of ranges beyond 500 kilometers and, therefore, INF Treaty-compliant. Russia refuses to provide the United States any more information about the missile, its capability, or its testing history to support Russia’s contention that the missile is Treaty-compliant. Despite such obfuscation, Russia claims that it wants to preserve the Treaty.

The United States has convened five meetings of the parties’ technical experts to discuss Russia’s INF Treaty violation since 2014. These meetings included two sessions of the Special Verification Commission, the Treaty body responsible for addressing compliance concerns, in November 2016 and December 2017, and three bilateral U.S.-Russia meetings of technical experts in September 2014, April 2015, and June 2018. At each of these meetings, the United States pressed Russia on its violating missile, urged it to come back into compliance, and highlighted the critical nature of our concerns. These actions were met with denials, obfuscation, and falsehoods. In contrast, Russia has initiated zero expert meetings with the United States on this topic during this time period and has not engaged in a substantive manner.

The United States has provided detailed information to Russia regarding its violation over the course of these bilateral and multilateral engagements, giving more than enough information for Russia to engage substantively on the issue. This includes the following:

  • Information pertaining to the missile and the launcher, including Russia’s internal designator for the mobile launcher chassis and the names of the companies involved in developing and producing the missile and launcher;
  • Information on the violating ground launched cruise missile’s (GLCM’s) test history, including coordinates of the tests and Russia’s attempts to conceal the nature of the program;
  • Information showing that the violating GLCM has a range capability between 500 and 5,500 kilometers;
  • Information showing that the violating GLCM is distinct from the R-500/SSC-7 GLCM or the RS-26 ICBM; and
  • The U.S. assessment that the Russian designator for the system in question is 9M729.

If Russia had decided it wanted to return to compliance, it had a clear path forward. There are measures in the Treaty that were used for eliminating systems, which Russia could have adopted to verifiably destroy the SSC-8 and its associated equipment. Russia decided not to do so.

It is important to note that, in addition to violating the INF Treaty, Russia is also not complying with its obligations under several other arms control treaties, including the Open Skies Treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty.

U.S. Compliance with the INF Treaty

The United States is in compliance with its obligations under the INF Treaty, and Allies affirmed this most recently in the NATO Summit declaration in July 2018. In contrast to Russia’s refusal to answer substantively key U.S. questions about the SSC-8/9M729, the United States has provided Russia with detailed information explaining why the United States is in compliance with the INF Treaty. The United States has even presented some of this information publicly, including in a separate factsheet on the State Department webpage.

U.S. Response to Russia’s Violation

The United States is declaring that Russia’s ongoing violation of the INF Treaty constitutes a material breach of the Treaty. As a consequence of Russia’s material breach, the United States will suspend its obligations under the Treaty effective in 60 days from December 4 unless Russia returns to full and verifiable compliance.

Russia must return to full and verifiable compliance; Russia’s failure to do so will result in the demise of the INF Treaty. We should be clear that Russia has not shown any indications that it seeks to return to compliance.

As described in the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, the United States is committed to arms control efforts that advance U.S., allied, and partner security; are verifiable and enforceable; and include partners that comply in a verifiable manner with their obligations. An arms control treaty that restrains only one side, while the other side violates it, is not effective in making us safer. Rather, it undermines the very idea of arms control as a tool to enhance our collective security.

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Russia Breaks Arms Control Treaty By Deploying Land-Based Cruise Missiles

Critical arms control agreements between Russia and the US are eroding.

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Russia’s shadowy SSC-8 land-based land-attack cruise missile has been in testing for nearly a decade, but now, according to The New York Times , the system has gone operational and has been deployed to two separate locations. Although both the US and Russia have thousands of cruise missiles they are not supposed to have land-based cruise or ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear or conventional warheads over a range of 300 to 3,400 miles according to the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987. The SSC-8 is speculated to have a range of of well over 1,000 miles, and possibly as far as 1,500 miles.

Since the treaty’s execution, both the US and Russia have concentrated their cruise missile arsenals to sea-based and air launched varieties, with the US throwing away its  Pershing II medium-range ballistic missiles  and BGM-109G Gryphon cruise missiles based on the Navy’s Tomahawk.  Then in 2008 Russia began testing what US intelligence believed was a land-based cruise missile, possibly  based on the Kalibr family of cruise missiles used by Russian naval units today. This was a blatant violation of the treaty, and the Obama administration worked to stop Russia’s testing of the missile in an effort to keep the treaty intact. The administration even floated the possibility of reconstituting America's own ground-based cruise missile program in Europe as a reaction to Russia's actions. Obviously these efforts proved futile and the fact that the SSC-8 is now operationally deployed leaves no room for interpretation as to Russia’s intentions. 

The US Gryphon and Pershing II missile programs both ended following the execution of the IRNFT:

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The New York Times writes:

“Administration officials said the Russians now have two battalions of the prohibited cruise missile. One is still located at Russia’s missile test site at Kapustin Yar in southern Russia near Volgograd. The other was shifted in December from that test site to an operational base elsewhere in the country, according to a senior official who did not provide further details and requested anonymity to discuss recent intelligence reports about the missile.”

Russia, which has become an adept player at using their easily deployed missile systems— namely  their S-400 air defense system , Iskander short-range ballistic missile system , and Bastion coastal defense system —as strategic “anti-access/area denial chess pieces in  Syria , Crimea and in Europe. Yet all these systems have a range of less than 300 miles, treaty defined or not, giving them formidable but still limited reach. 

If the SSC-8 were deployed among these systems, Russia could strike targets across entire continents, not just across a border or two. Considering Russia’s missile-heavy foreign policy playbook, you can see why such a capability would be attractive, especially in an effort to level the playing field against a coalition with advanced airpower and naval systems like NATO. 

Russia used cruise missiles extensively during their air campaign in Syria, launching them from  ships , bombers, and  even submarines , which was strange because the airspace was permissive and there was no need for standoff weaponry. Part of this was to test and showcase available weaponry and capabilities to potential buyers on the world stage, and for propaganda purposes. Another part was because Russia still lacks  precision attack capability and weapons  for most its tactical aircraft units, leaving expensive cruise missiles as the default heavy precision strike option. Even Russia's Bastion coastal defense system deployed to Syria used its  P-800 Oniks supersonic missiles in land-attack mode  against targets in Syria during the campaign. Here is both the Kaliber and Bastion in action during Syrian operations:

If Russia could deploy large numbers of these missiles, possibly both conventionally and nuclear armed, along their western border, as well as in the enclave of Kaliningrad and in Crimea, it would give Moscow a massive precision strike capability that can range across Europe, something that by and large Russia’s tactical air forces continue to lack. 

Fielding large quantities of road-mobile, conventionally armed land-based cruise missiles is also a relatively cheap proposition, at least in terms of the alternative. After the initial acquisition cost of the missiles and their transporter-erector-launchers (TELs), upkeep and training is just a tiny fraction of the cost of a high-end combat aircraft. And even those are not as survivable and do not possess the range of land attack cruise missile. 

The fact is that Russia is not the only one that appears to be moving away from some of the landmark arms treaties that have kept both countries’ arsenals in check. The US may also be heading down this road. During a recent phone call with Vladimir Putin, President Trump was supposedly asked if he wanted to renew the New START treaty, he paused,  asked his aids and replied that he thought it was a bad deal for the US that favored Russia. 

New START is a key treaty that demands caps on deployable nuclear weapons stockpiles, including these aggregate limitations:

700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and deployed heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments;

1,550 nuclear warheads on deployed ICBMs, deployed SLBMs, and deployed heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments (each such heavy bomber is counted as one warhead toward this limit);

800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments.

There are also other important stipulations on verification and inspections included in the agreement. Maybe above all else, New START could work as a jumping off place for increasing limitations on nuclear arms and their delivery systems, and is the best route to potentially get to a place where either country cannot destroy the planet many times over with their own arsenal alone.

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With all this in mind, what’s most concerning is that both sides, Russia and the US, seem to be moving away from cooperating on arms control overall, which is a dangerous and dark path to stroll down to say the least. 

As for the SSC-8, if the system gets fielded in large numbers, European countries may decide to invest in their own land-based land-attack cruise missiles to provide long-range precision striking capabilities into Russian territory—if the US does not protest it. This is not a good outcome as one mistake, one errant missile from either side, could elicit a much a wider response and become a springboard to an all-out conflict. Also, when you consider that conventionally armed weapons do not have the same rigid command and control structures that nuclear ones do, and that there is no way of really knowing if one is armed with a nuclear or conventional warhead, this is even more concerning. 

As for the US, drastically increasing ballistic missile defenses in Europe may be an abstract response, but it won’t help with countering a dramatically enhanced cruise missile threat. These missiles fly nap-of-the-earth using terrain and contour matching. Shooting them down is problematic for ground-based systems, and until recently, shooting them down over land in the air-to-air realm also had its issues as they hide in the ground clutter and shadows on radar.

The advent of advanced electronically scanned array (AESA) radars and airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) with similarly advanced radar systems and large quantities of processing power have made shooting down low-flying cruise missiles overland a more reliable affair. This was one of the main reasons American Air National Guard F-15C/Ds  have been re-equipped with powerful APG-63V3 AESA radars and why America’s, and other nations’, airborne early warning and control aircraft  have received substantial upgrades . 

Existing fighters, like the F-16 and soon the Eurofighter Typhoon and others, can be upgraded with AESA radar sets , but it costs millions per aircraft and you still need to train pilots for the mission and have plenty of aircraft and costly air-to-air missiles on hand to actually execute it successfully. Ground-based SAM systems could also be used to shoot down cruise missiles by leveraging a common data-link picture provided by an AEW&C aircraft and any AESA-equipped airborne fighters under a  cooperative engagement-like concept. But even this capability is still relatively new at its time, and interoperability among diverse air and ground based defensive systems will be a major ongoing issue in realizing it on a wide scale.

Some eastern european air arms that have antiquated Soviet-era fleets are slowly upgrading with second-hand F-16s and other fighters, but equipping these aircraft with AESA radars would be a high cost for already cash-strapped forces:

NATO could work together to fund common systems and their supporting architecture to built a credible cruise missile defense, but it will take time and cost considerable amounts of money. Many of the countries that are closest to the threat are not wealthy and some don’t even have their own fighter  aircraft at all (Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia) . As such doing so would be a huge undertaking that would still take years to develop and field, and even then it would be hard-pressed to be able to counter larger volleys of SSC-8s skimming over the eastern European countryside. The US could deploy AESA equipped fighters on a permanent basis to the region, but that would require a major expansion in force structure to support.

The cheapest and safest way to counter new military capabilities is to stop their development before they become operational. President Obama failed miserably in this respect with the SSC-8, in the same way he failed to forestall China’s island-building campaign in the South China Sea or North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs. Will Trump replicate this failing record? We’ll have to wait and see, but by most indications, at least when it comes to Russia and strategic arms, he seems in favor of throwing away at least some of the stability-infusing agreements of the past and in his own words “let it be an arms race.” 

Contact the author: [email protected]

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Watch CBS News

Russia defends new cruise missile that U.S. says violates INF nuclear treaty

January 23, 2019 / 6:32 AM EST / CBS/AP

Moscow -- The Russian military has released the specifications of its new missile, seeking to dispel the U.S. claim that the weapons violate a key nuclear arms pact. The military insisted Wednesday that its new SSC-8 ground-fired cruise missile (also known as the Novator 9M729) conforms to the limits of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced at a NATO meeting in early December that Washington would suspend its obligations under the INF treaty by Feb. 2, citing Russian "cheating," unless Moscow comes into compliance with the terms of the pact. The U.S. government says the new Russian missile violates provisions of the pact that ban production, testing and deployment of land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 310 to 3,400 miles.  

Lt. Gen. Mikhail Matveevsky, the chief of the military's missile and artillery forces, said at a meeting with foreign military attaches that the new missile has a maximum range of 298 miles.

Russia has vowed "retaliation" if U.S. leaves INF

While Russia insists the new 9M729 cruise missile does not violate the terms of the INF, Russian officials warned in December of "retaliation" if the U.S. does follow through on the Trump administration's decision to abandon the treaty.

RUSSIA-ARMAMENT-TREATY-US

President Vladimir Putin said if the U.S. started developing new intermediate range missiles, his country would respond in kind to build its own new weapons. That, however, is exactly what the Trump administration argues Russia has already done with the 9M729.

The U.S. has shared intelligence evidence with its NATO allies that it says shows that Russia's SSC-8 missile could give Moscow the ability to launch a nuclear strike in Europe with little or no notice.  

In his annual end-of-year news conference, Putin warned of the growing threat of nuclear war, telling journalists in Moscow that, "the danger of the situation escalating is being downplayed."

"If something like this would happen, it might lead to the collapse of the entire civilization," he said, adding that he believed, "humanity would have the necessary common sense in order to avoid any extremities."

Putin also hailed in December the final tests of a hypersonic missile , which he earlier said would render existing missile defense systems obsolete.

"On my instructions, the Ministry of Defense prepared and conducted a final test of this system. This has just been completed with absolute success," Putin said during a televised meeting with members of the government. "Russia has a new type of strategic weapon," he said, adding that the intercontinental "Avangard" system would be ready for use from 2019. 

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This is the ground-launched cruise missile that Russia has reportedly just deployed

ssc 8 cruise missile

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Russia had “secretly deployed” at least one operational unit of a ground-launched cruise missile known as the SSC-8.

The move, if confirmed, would be a direct violation of a landmark 1987 treaty that banned ground-launched missiles with a range between 300 to 3,400 miles. Commonly referred to as the INF or Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, it was billed at the time of its signing as one of the most “detailed and stringent” treaties in the history of nuclear arms control.

The existence of the SSC-8 missile is not new. Reports indicate that the nuclear-capable missile was first tested in early 2008. In 2014, after several years of watching the development of the missile program, the Obama administration announced that Russia had violated the INF treaty.

“The missile has been several years in development, so it is not a surprise,” said Jeffrey Lewis, the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. “That said, there is a big difference between a system being developed and one that is deployed with military units.”

On Tuesday, a defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, would not say that the missiles had been “deployed” but that they had “moved around” in recent months. Army Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza would not comment on the movement of the missiles but said that Russia remains in violation of its INF treaty obligations.

Michael Kofman, a Russian military analyst at the research organization CNA, indicated that the two units mentioned in the New York Times report are probably divisions similar to the structure of Iskander missile units. Traditionally, each missile division has four vehicles capable of launching the system, accompanied by supporting units meant for targeting, maintenance and reloading, Kofman said. He added that it would have taken months to prepare the missiles and their launchers for actual field deployments, raising questions about how long the Obama and Trump administrations knew of their location before it was reported on by the Times.

Little is known about the SSC-8, but according to Lewis, the missile is probably a ground-based version of the Russians’ Kalibr cruise missile. The Kalibr is a ship- and submarine-launched missile capable of carrying about 1,000 pounds of conventional explosives or a nuclear warhead. In a show of force, Russian vessels have launched Kalibrs into Syria on several occasions. While there are multiple variants of the Kalibr, its max range is about 1,500 miles. The biggest question mark, however, is what the SSC-8 is launched from. If it is a larger variant of the Russian 9M728 cruise missile fired from the INF treaty-compliant Iskander short-range missile system, it might be able to fit on the same launcher, thus making it difficult for surveillance to discern the difference between the two.

It is unclear how the United States will respond to the continued development and potential deployment of the new missile. President Trump has called for warmer relations with Moscow, but Republican lawmakers voiced concern Tuesday over the reported missile activity.

“In light of the most recent developments, it is time for the new administration to take immediate action to enhance our deterrent posture in Europe and protect our allies,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in a statement. “More broadly, we must continue the ongoing modernization of U.S. nuclear forces and ensure that NATO’s nuclear deterrence forces are survivable, well-exercised, and increasingly ready to counter Russian nuclear doctrine, which calls for the first use of nuclear weapons.”

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ssc 8 cruise missile

Russia Has Reportedly Deployed Treaty-Breaking Cruise Missiles

The SSC-8 cruise missile is prohibited under a 30 year old arms control treaty.

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In 1987, the United States and the Soviet Union signed a landmark arms control agreement, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty . The United States worried that Soviet intermediate-range missiles would be used to destroy NATO forces and could escalate a battlefield nuclear war to all-out nuclear war, while the Soviets feared their American counterparts in Europe that could strike Moscow in mere minutes—a capability the Soviet Union couldn't hope to match. Both sides saw they had something to gain from a treaty that banned the missiles for good.

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The INF Treaty banned both countries from possessing, owning, or flight testing ground-launched missiles—both ballistic and cruise missiles—with ranges between 300 to 3,400 miles. The treaty banned both conventional and nuclear armed versions of the same missile. Finally, it allowed for monitoring of the destruction process and short-notice inspections to ensure neither side cheated. The treaty is widely considered a success, with 2,662 missiles scrapped.

Both sides complied with the treaty, at least until 2007 when the first tests of a new cruise missile in Russia were reported. At the time, the U.S. government didn't issue an opinion as to whether it considered these tests as a breach of the INF Treaty— likely because nobody had actually seen the missile fly to a treaty-breaking range. By July 2014 the U.S. State Department apparently had more proof and formally accused Russia of testing the new missile in violation of the INF Treaty . A second test in October 2015 was leaked to the Washington Free Beacon .

Now, in February 2017, the Trump Administration claims that the SSC-X-8 cruise missile, now just known as the SSC-8, is out of development and operational. The New York Times claims there are two battalions of SSC-8s , one at the Kapustin Yar missile development complex. Each battalion has four firing units of Iskander missile launchers and a large number of SSC-8 missiles. Here's a video of a cruise missile, probably a shorter range version of the SSC-8, being launched from an Iskander:

Not much is known about SSC-8. The missile is likely very, very similar to the sea-launched Kalibr cruise missile Russia has launched from ships in the Caspian Sea against Islamic State targets. Sea and air launched cruise missiles, it's worth noting, are legal under the treaty. The SSC-8 probably carries a conventional warhead of about 1,000 pounds or a nuclear warhead of several hundred kilotons. The Kalibr has an inertial guidance system, a range of one thousand to 1,600 miles, and can fly low enough to stay under enemy radar. Here's an alleged sighting of a Russian cruise missile, likely a Kalibr, streaking over Aleppo:

Why field these new missiles? Despite all of the recent hype about a resurgent Russian military threat, Russian defense spending is one-eleventh that of the United States. The bulk of Russian military hardware consists leftovers from the Cold War, and getting older every day. Grandiose plans to replace the bulk of the country's weapons by 2020 were undercut by Western sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea and depressed commodity prices, particularly oil.

It's likely Russia thinks that missiles such as the SSC-8 can arrest the decline of its armed forces by offering a long-range precision strike capability. The missiles, which can be launched from Russian territory against military and civilian targets across Western Europe, are also useful to intimidate NATO, which is militarily stronger in almost every way.

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The real question is whether the juice is worth the squeeze. It is worth it to Russia to ditch a 30-year-old treaty that kept American missiles out of Europe and out of striking range of Moscow? Was there not some other cost-effective way to negate NATO's military advantage that didn't involve the stain of breaking a longstanding international agreement? Why doesn't Moscow put the missiles on ships, where they would be legal under the treaty? Only Moscow knows for sure.

Headshot of Kyle Mizokami

Kyle Mizokami is a writer on defense and security issues and has been at Popular Mechanics since 2015. If it involves explosions or projectiles, he's generally in favor of it. Kyle’s articles have appeared at The Daily Beast, U.S. Naval Institute News, The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, Combat Aircraft Monthly, VICE News , and others. He lives in San Francisco.

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Country: Russia

25 items, page 1 of 0, kh-55 (as-15).

The Kh-55 (NATO: AS-15 “Kent) is an air-launched cruise missile developed by the Soviet Union starting in 1971. Originally designed as a strategic system capable of delivering a nuclear warhead 2,500 km, the missile has given rise to several variants. These include the Kh-55SM, an extended range version; the Kh-555, a conventional version; and the...

3M-14 Kalibr (SS-N-30A)

The 3M14 Kalibr (NATO: SS-N-30A) is a Russian land attack cruise missile (LACM) and improved version of the 3M-14E “Club” LACM. The SS-N-30A has an estimated range of around 1,500 to 2,500 km and has become a mainstay in the Russian Navy’s ground-strike capabilities. Kalibr Development Although commonly referred to as the Kalibr cruise missile...

ssc 8 cruise missile

R-27 Zyb (SS-N-6)

The R-27 Zyb (NATO designation: SS-N-6 “Serb”), was a submarine-launched, liquid-fueled ballistic missile developed and deployed by the Soviet Union. Elements of the R-27 are believed to be the basis for some of North Korea’s ballistic missile programs. R-27 Development Development of the R-27 began in 1962 and flight tests began in mid-1965. The missile was first...

RK-55 Granat (SS-N-21)

The RK-55 Granat (NATO: SS-N-21 “Sampson”) is a submarine and ground-launched intermediate range cruise missile produced by the Soviet Union since 1976. RK-55 Development The RK-55 is the submarine/ground-launched component of the “55” series of cruise missiles which also included the Kh-55 air-launched missile. This family of cruise missiles was the Soviet Union’s response to the...

RSM-56 Bulava (SS-N-32)

The RSM-56 Bulava (NATO: SS-N-32) is an intercontinental-range, submarine-launched, solid propellant ballistic missile. Alongside the SS-25 and the SS-27, both land-based ICBMs, the Bulava represents a core component of Russia’s future strategic nuclear force. Development of the program began in the 1990’s with official production contacts going into effect in the 2007-2008 timeframe. The Bulava...

R-29RM Shtil (SS-N-23)

The R-29RM Shtil (NATO: SS-N-23 “Skiff”) is an intercontinental-range, submarine-based, liquid propellant ballistic missile. The Skiff was developed for the Delta IV ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), each of which is capable of carrying 16 missiles. SS-N-23 Development The SS-N-23 is capable of launching its 2,800 kg payload up to a range of 8,300 km. This payload is...

Oniks

P-800 Oniks/Yakhont/Bastion (SS-N-26 Strobile)

The SS-N-26 “Strobile” (P-800 Oniks)/Yakhont/Yakhont-M are Russian anti-ship cruise missiles developed by NPO Mashinostroyenia. There are three known variants of the missile. The ship-launched variant is known as the P-800 Oniks and has been designated the SS-N-26 “Strobile” by NATO. The export variant of the ground-launched version is known as the Yakhont. An air-launched variant...

R-29 Vysota (SS-N-18)

The R-29 Vysota (NATO: SS-N-18 “Stingray”) is an intercontinental-range, submarine-launched, liquid-propellant ballistic missile. It likely derives from the SS-N-8 (R-29) missile. The SS-N-18 was designed for the Delta III ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), or Kalmar class. Each Kalmar carries sixteen SS-N-18 missiles. SS-N-18 Development There have been three SS-N-18 variants. Mod 1 has a range...

ssc 8 cruise missile

OTR-21 Tochka (SS-21)

The OTR-21 Tochka (NATO: SS-21 “Scarab”) is a short-range, road-mobile, solid propellant, single warhead ballistic missile designed for battlefield deployment. It was designed as a replacement for the Free Rocket Over Ground (FROG) missile series. Reports suggest that it can be launched in either a ballistic or cruise missile mode. The ballistic mode provides an...

ssc 8 cruise missile

SS-1 “Scud”

The SS-1 “Scud A” was designed a short time after the end of World War II by captured German scientists and is based upon the Nazi V-2 rocket which was used to attack London during the Second World War. The Scud family of short-range, liquid-fueled missiles has now proliferated around the world and serves as...

ssc 8 cruise missile

3M-54 Kalibr/Club (SS-N-27)

The 3M-54 Kalibr/Klub (SS-N-27 “Sizzler”) is a Russian short-range ship-, and submarine-launched anti-ship missile. The Sizzler is part of the Kalibr family of missiles and has several export versions known as the ‘Klub’ missile series. SS-N-27 Development Along with the rest of the Klub and Kalibr family of missiles, this anti-ship cruise missile began development...

ssc 8 cruise missile

RSD-10 Pioneer (SS-20)

The RSD-10 Pioneer (NATO: SS-20 “Saber”) was a Soviet intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that entered service in 1976. Its wide-scale deployment was a key driver behind NATO’s 1979 decision to station U.S. Pershing II IRBMs in Europe. The Soviet Union retired the SS-20 from service following the ratification of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty...

ssc 8 cruise missile

9K720 Iskander (SS-26)

The 9K720 Iskander (NATO: SS-26 “Stone”) is a road-mobile short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) with a range of up to 500 km. Using a common transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) and support vehicles, the system can also fire the 9M728 (R-500, SSC-7) and 9M729 (SSC-8) cruise missiles. Iskander Development Russia began development of the SS-26 in the late 1980s...

ssc 8 cruise missile

RS-26 Rubezh

The RS-26 Rubezh is a Russian solid-fueled, road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) currently in development. Although classified as an ICBM under the New START Treaty, the RS-26 has been tested with heavier payloads at ranges below 5,500 km, potentially putting Russia in violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. RS-26 Development Development of the...

ssc 8 cruise missile

RS-28 Sarmat

The RS-28 Sarmat is a liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile currently under development by Russia. Sarmat Development Designed to replace Russia’s aging SS-18 Satan ICBM, the RS-28 Sarmat began development some time in the 2000s. After awarding production contracts to Makeyev Design Bureau and NPOMash in early 2011, Russia concluded research and development of the Sarmat...

ssc 8 cruise missile

RS-24 Yars (SS-27 Mod 2)

The RS-24 Yars (NATO: SS-27 Mod 2) is a three-stage solid fuel missile that reportedly carries a payload of three reentry vehicles (RV) and penetration aids. RS-24 Yars Development The RS-24 Yars is believed to have entered into service in February 2010. While details about the missiles specifications and capabilities are limited, it is reported to...

RT-2PM2 Topol-M (SS-27 Mod 1 “Sickle B”)

The RT-2PM2 “Topol-M” (NATO designation: SS-27 “Sickle B”), is a Russian solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 11,000 km. Topol-M Development The development of the Topol-M, began in the late 1980s as an upgraded version of the SS-25, though it was redesigned in 1992 as the first missile designed and built by the...

RT-2PM Topol (SS-25)

The RT-2PM Topol (SS-25 “Sickle”) is an intercontinental-range, road-mobile, solid propellant ballistic missile system. It has a range of over 11,000 km and was based on the preceding Temp-2S and Pioneer road-mobile missiles. SS-25 Development The SS-25 entered development in 1977, with flight tests occurring in between 1983-87. The missile was officially commissioned into service...

UR-100 (SS-19)

The UR-100 (NATO: SS-19 “Stiletto”) s an intercontinental-range, silo-based, liquid propellant ballistic missile system deployed by the Soviet Union and now the Russian Federation. Designed concurrently with the SS-17, with which it shares many features. SS-17, SS-18, and SS-19 were the first Soviet missiles to be equipped with Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) warheads with...

R-36 (SS-18 “Satan”)

The The R-36 (NATO: SS-18 “Satan”) is an intercontinental-range, silo-based, liquid propellant ballistic missile initially developed by the Soviet Union and now the Russian Federation. It is believed that a total of six versions have existed since the program’s inception, with only the Mod 6’s still operationally deployed. SS-18 Development The SS-18 (original Mods 1/2/3)...

ssc 8 cruise missile

Kh-101 / Kh-102

The Kh-101 / Kh-102 is a line of conventional and nuclear capable air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM) developed and deployed by Russia. A stealthy missile, the Kh-101/-102 is designed to defeat air defense systems by flying at low, terrain-hugging altitudes to avoid radar systems. The Kh-101 carries a conventional warhead, while the Kh-102 is believed to...

ssc 8 cruise missile

Kh-47M2 Kinzhal

The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal is a nuclear-capable, Russian air-launched ballistic missile, likely derived from Russia’s ground-launched 9K720 Iskander-M. It was one of six “next generation” weapons unveiled by President Putin during a speech in March 2018. Kinzhal Development Although it is unclear when Kinzhal’s development began, concept schemes of Russian Iskander missiles installed on the MiG-31...

Missiles of Russia

As the heir to the substantial Soviet missile arsenal, Russia boasts the widest inventory of ballistic and cruise missiles in the world. Russia remains a major power in the development of missiles of all kinds, and Russian strategic rocket forces constitute a significant element of Moscow’s military strategy. Russian missiles perform a wide variety of...

ssc 8 cruise missile

9M729 (SSC-8)

The SSC-8 is a Russian ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM) with a range of 2,500 km. Its development prompted the 2019 U.S. withdrawal from the 1987 INF Treaty. SSC-8 Development Russia reportedly began covert development of the SSC-8 in the mid-2000s, and started flight testing in 2008. It was first test fired in July 2014. It...

ssc 8 cruise missile

The Avangard is a nuclear-capable, hypersonic boost-glide vehicle developed by the Russian Federation. It was one of six “next generation” weapons described by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a speech in March 2018. Avangard Development The origins of the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) reach back to the mid-1980s, at which time the USSR first started...

One Chart Reveals The Range Of Russia’s Land-Based Missile Arsenal

Russia may be weak when it comes to economic growth and national population growth, but the country’s still armed to...

By Jared Keller | Published Apr 6, 2017 5:01 PM EDT

  • Tech & Tactics

Missiles photo

Russia may be weak when it comes to economic growth and national population growth , but the country’s still armed to the teeth when it comes to rocket power. According to the Center for Strategic International Studies’ Missile Defense Project, Moscow exercises control over the largest arsenal of short and long-range missiles in the world, from tactical rockets for regional warfare to intercontinental ballistic missiles.

If you ever need to remind someone of that when you’re downrange or, say, at a cocktail party, CSIS has a handy chart detailing Russia’s land-based missile ranges:

Chart by Center for Strategic International Studies

Missiles photo

In the foreground, CSIS details the range of Russian tactical rockets deployed around Kaliningrad, while the background chart is a stunning reminder that Moscow’s SS-19 Stiletto and SS-18 Satan can still reach almost anywhere on the planet. CSIS also put together a guide to the various missiles in Russia’s arsenal, from the short-range SS-21 Scarab to the intercontinental Satan and SS-X-30 Satan II.

Why does this matter? The War Zone notes the inclusion of the SSC-8 cruise missile, which Russia tested in February in violation of a 1987 accord with the United States that banned the deployment of land-based intermediate-range missiles. From the New York Times :

Administration officials said the Russians now have two battalions of the prohibited cruise missile. One is still located at Russia’s missile test site at Kapustin Yar in southern Russia near Volgograd. The other was shifted in December from that test site to an operational base elsewhere in the country, according to a senior official who did not provide further details and requested anonymity to discuss recent intelligence reports about the missile.

American officials had called the cruise missile the SSC-X-8. But the “X” has been removed from intelligence reports, indicating that American intelligence officials consider the missile to be operational and no longer a system in development.

“CSIS estimates the cruise missile's range at 1,242 miles, allowing it to reach into all of Alaska, the entire Persian Gulf, parts of France and parts of the UK,” the War Zones notes . “Just yesterday, the head of US Strategic Command stated that ‘we have no defense for it, especially in defense of our European allies.’” Oh, good. This is fine. Everything is fine.

Jared Keller

Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications. Contact the author here.

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U.s. believes russia deployed new cruise missile: nyt.

Reuters logo

Russia has deployed a new cruise missile despite complaints by U.S. officials that it violates an arms control treaty banning ground-based U.S. and Russian intermediate-range missiles, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing unidentified officials.

The newspaper said Russia had secretly deployed the ground-launched SSC-8 cruise missile that Moscow has been developing and testing for several years, despite U.S. complaints that it violated sections of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the New York Times story.

The U.S. State Department concluded in a July 2014 arms control report that “the Russian Federation is in violation of its obligations under the INF Treaty not to possess, produce, or flight-test a ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM) with a range capability of 500 km to 5,500 km (310 miles to 3,420 miles), or to possess or produce launchers of such missiles.”

Russia accused Washington of conducting “megaphone diplomacy” after the accusation was repeated by the State Department in 2015. Moscow also denied it had violated the INF treaty, which helped end the Cold War between the two countries.

The New York Times said the previous U.S. administration of President Barack Obama had attempted to persuade Moscow to correct the violation while the missile was still in the testing phase.

Instead, Russia has moved ahead with the SSC-8 missile, deploying it as an operational system, the report said.

Russia now has two battalions of the cruise missile, the newspaper quoted administration officials as saying. One is located at Russia’s missile test site at Kapustin Yar in the country’s southeast.

The other cruise missile battalion has been located at an operational base elsewhere in Russia, the Times quoted one unidentified official as saying.

(Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Susan Heavey and Grant McCool)

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Russia has more SSC-8 cruise missiles than expected, with conflictual range

Russia has more SSC-8 cruise missiles than expected so far, reports the German weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAZ) on Sunday, citing an unnamed source in Western intelligence. NATO asserts that such weapons violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a disarmament agreement of 1987 from which the US and Russia claimed to withdraw last week. Washington has long accused Moscow of trampling this pact.

Russia has more SSC 8 cruise missiles than expected with conflictual range

The German newspaper FAZ argues that in addition to two known locations where missiles and battalions are stationed - at a launch pad at Kapoustin Iar, in southern Russia, and Yekaterinburg - there would be two other places equipped with these missiles. : Mozdok in North Ossetia and Shuya near Moscow.

Each of the four battalions would have four wheeled launchers, each carrying four missiles, adds the German media. This brings to 64 SSC-8 missiles in Russia's possession, which can be armed with conventional or nuclear warheads. This type of missile has a range of 2,350 kilometers. With a conventional warhead of 500 kilos, the range is 2,000 kilometers.

The intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty between the US and Russia prohibits this type of development and possession of missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. Russia claims that these missiles have a range of only 480 kilometers. With these missiles in their current positions, eastern and northern Europe are in range of Russian fire, according to FAZ, which adds that by moving them, all of Europe can be threatened, with the exception of Portugal.

Russia had already, on September 2, 2015, conducted one more test of the ground-launched cruise missile that the United States claims violates the 1987 INF Treaty. the US designation is the “SSC-X-8.” This missile is probably designated 9M729. There was a Russian announcement by GosNIIP, the design bureau that builds guidance for cruise missiles, that Russia completed state acceptance trials of the “ground-based system 9M728, 9M729 and its modernized version.” The 9M728 is the Iskander cruise missile (it is also called the R500 — the name of the missile is different from its GRAU number.) The way Russian GRAU numbers work is formulaic — the 9M means it is an Army missile. That means the 9M729 is also for Iskander or a new launcher that we have yet to see. Let’s presume that the 9M728 is a reduced-range version of the 9M729 — an INF-compliant version of its bigger brother. That’s not hard to believe — Russian officials have long said they could extend the range of the cruise missile for Iskander beyond 500 km with little difficulty; their confidence was probably rooted in some evidence.

The SSC-8 is based on the Novator RK-55 Relief (NATO code: SSC-X-4 'Slingshot'; GRAU: 3K12), a Soviet land-based/submarine-launched cruise missile. It was about to enter service in 1987, when such weapons were banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. A version launched from submarine torpedo tubes, the S-10 Granat (SS-N-21 'Sampson'; GRAU: 3K10), has apparently been converted to carry conventional warheads and continues in service to this day. The Russian Federation was reported to have deployed the derivative SS-CX-7/SS-CX-8 systems on February 14, 2017. The RK-55 is very similar to the air-launched Kh-55 (AS-15 'Kent') but the Kh-55 has a drop-down turbofan engine and was designed by MKB Raduga. Both have formed the basis of post-Cold-War missiles, in particular the Sizzler which has a supersonic approach phase.

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  1. Russias SSC-8 Cruise Missile Poses Potential Major Threat

    ssc 8 cruise missile

  2. Russia has more SSC-8 cruise missiles than expected, with conflictual

    ssc 8 cruise missile

  3. 9M729 (SSC-8)

    ssc 8 cruise missile

  4. Russian SSC-8 cruise missile. Source: Reuters.

    ssc 8 cruise missile

  5. SSC-8 (9M729)

    ssc 8 cruise missile

  6. SSC-8

    ssc 8 cruise missile

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COMMENTS

  1. 9M729 (SSC-8)

    The SSC-8 is a ground-launched cruise missile approximately 6-8 m in length and 0.514 m in diameter. It has reportedly been tested at various ranges, but the 2017 U.S. Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) published a maximum range of 2,500 km. 6. The missile employs a guidance system developed by Russian defense ...

  2. Novator 9M729

    Novator 9M729. The Novator 9M729 (SSC-8) [1] is a cruise missile developed by NPO Novator in Russia. [2] [3] [4] It gained significant attention when it led to the denunciation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) by the United States secretary of state Mike Pompeo in August 2019. [5]

  3. SSC-8

    It was reported by the New York Times on February 14, 2017, that the Russian Federation deployed a new cruise missile, designated as the SSC-8. Though news of the missile's deployment is recent, knowledge of its development is not. The Obama administration had previously called on the Russian Federation to halt its development of the weapon ...

  4. 9M729

    The 9M729 SSC-X-8 is a long-range ground-based cruise missile system. According to Western reports, the rocket is a land version of the SS-N-30 3M14 missile complex "Caliber-NK" and developed OKB ...

  5. Russia's Violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF

    Since 2013, the United States has raised its concerns with Russia regarding Russian development of a ground-launched cruise missile (NATO designator: SSC-8, Russian designator: 9M729) with a range capability between 500 and 5,500 kilometers on repeated occasions. These include more than 30 engagements at all levels of the Russian government. Russia has repeatedly changed its […]

  6. Russia Breaks Arms Control Treaty By Deploying Land-Based Cruise Missiles

    Russia's shadowy SSC-8 land-based land-attack cruise missile has been in testing for nearly a decade, but now, according to The New York Times, the system has gone operational and has been ...

  7. Russia says 9M729 cruise missile conforms with Intermediate-Range

    The military insisted Wednesday that its new SSC-8 ground-fired cruise missile (also known as the Novator 9M729) conforms to the limits of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

  8. This is the ground-launched cruise missile that Russia has reportedly

    Little is known about the SSC-8, but according to Lewis, the missile is probably a ground-based version of the Russians' Kalibr cruise missile.

  9. Russia's controversial 9M729 missile system

    Coats said Russia had run an elaborate missile trial program until 2015. The INF treaty does allow for certain mid- and long-range missile systems to be tested on land, provided they are designed ...

  10. Where Is the Arms Control Community on Russia's Intermediate-Range

    That's exactly what Russia decided when it deployed the nuclear-capable SSC-8 cruise missile last year, in violation of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty. Common sense defines the problem ...

  11. NATO keeps deeming Russian SSC-8 cruise missile non compliant with INF

    NATO member states have been united in their response to Russia's new SSC-8 cruise missile system, which the alliance deems to be non-compliant with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in his opening remarks at NATO's ministerial meeting in Brussels on Thursday, Feb.13.

  12. Russia Has Reportedly Deployed Treaty-Breaking Cruise Missiles

    The SSC-8 cruise missile is deployed from land and has a range of at least 1,200 miles, a combination that puts it in violation of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

  13. Missiles of Russia

    The SSC-8 is a Russian ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM) with a range of 2,500 km. Its development prompted the 2019 U.S. withdrawal from the 1987 INF Treaty. SSC-8 Development Russia reportedly began covert development of the SSC-8 in the mid-2000s, and started flight testing in 2008. It was first test fired in July 2014. It...

  14. Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

    According to US officials, Russia violated the treaty in 2008 by testing the SSC-8 cruise missile, which has a range of 3,000 km (1,900 mi). Russia rejected the claim that their SSC-8 missiles violated the treaty, claiming that the SSC-8 has a maximum range of only 480 km (300 mi).

  15. One Chart Reveals The Range Of Russia's Land-Based Missile Arsenal

    The War Zone notes the inclusion of the SSC-8 cruise missile, which Russia tested in February in violation of a 1987 accord with the United States that banned the deployment of land-based ...

  16. The Russian 9M729 Novator Cruise Missile And A Sneaky Trick

    The SSC-8 is a ground-launched cruise missile approximately 6-8 m in length and 0.53 m in diameter. It has reportedly been tested at various ranges, but the 2017 U.S. Air Force National Air and ...

  17. U.S. Believes Russia Deployed New Cruise Missile: NYT

    The SSC-8 violates the 1987 INF Treaty. The U.S. State Department concluded in a July 2014 arms control report that "the Russian Federation is in violation of its obligations under the INF Treaty not to possess, produce, or flight-test a ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM) with a range capability of 500 km to 5,500 km (310 miles to 3,420 miles), or to possess or produce launchers of such ...

  18. Top General: U.S. Has 'No Defense' for Russian Missiles

    At least two battalions of SSC-8 cruise missiles were deployed in the southern Russian city of Volgograd and another unknown location, according to a report by The New York Times. The missile was ...

  19. RK-55

    The Novator RK-55 Relief (Russian: РК-55 Рельеф 'Relief'; NATO: SSC-X-4 'Slingshot'; GRAU: 3K12) is a Russian Navy cruise missile that is launched either from submarines (SLCM) or from surface ships. It can have a nuclear warhead developed in the Soviet Union.A version launched from submarine torpedo tubes, the S-10 Granat (SS-N-21 'Sampson'; GRAU: 3K10), has apparently been converted ...

  20. Russia has more SSC-8 cruise missiles than expected, with conflictual

    Russia has more SSC-8 cruise missiles than expected so far, reports the German weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAZ) on Sunday, citing an unnamed source in Western intelligence. NATO asserts that such weapons violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a disarmament agreement of 1987 from which the US and Russia ...

  21. US and NATO are Defenseless against SSC-8 Cruise Missile System

    US and NATO are Defenseless against Russia's Illegal SSC-8 Cruise Missile SystemNeither the United States nor NATO has an effective defense against Russia's ...