MOSCOW, September 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia already has sufficient defensive means to match the US Prompt Global Strike (PGS), but they still need to be developed and enhanced, military experts told RIA Novosti.
EVERYTHING WE NEED
Former Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Army General Yuri Baluyevsky said that Russia is strong enough to ward off an American attack: "We already have a system of swift retaliation."
The president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems and Doctor of Military Sciences Konstantin Sivkov agreed with this viewpoint, but said that the system still needed further development and the reconfiguration of a number of combat resources.
"Russia has missiles, such as the long-range, air-based X-101 [strategic cruise missile], which is able to strike at distances of 5,000 kilometers (about 3,100 miles). It's open source data," Sivkov said.
Secondly, Russia "has high-precision ballistic missiles that could strike ground targets, providing they had normal warheads."
These are the two main elements of a rapid long-range strike, Sivkov said.
"That is, it can be done now. Basically, existing long-range aviation would be sufficient, if it"s possible to reconfigure ballistic missile submarines such as the Project 941 Akula and the Project 885 Severodvinsk. They could... carry out attacks at short notice," Sivkov said.
BOOSTING AEROSPACE DEFENSE
Igor Korotchenko, Editor-in-Chief of the National Defense magazine said it is essential for Russia to develop and improve the current aerospace defense system as a means of neutralizing the possibility of the United States carrying out the Prompt Global Strike.
"To create an adequate aerospace defense system it is important to develop firing equipment, such as the S-500. It is capable of hitting targets not only in the air but also in near space at an altitude of 200 kilometers [about 124 miles] above the Earth, which are moving at a speed of up to 8 kilometers [5 miles] per second," the expert said.
It is also necessary to develop the means for the early detection of ballistic and cruise missiles launched at Russia from the territory of a likely opponent, Korotchenko said.
The expert also stated that an aerospace defense corporate group would be founded on the basis of the Almaz-Antey Group, and would include a number of other developers and system integrators, and space systems of detection and monitoring in particular.
"The General Staff is considering different options for integrating the various forces and resources of the Russian army, to find the best way to configure the aerospace defense system and prepare it appropriately to reflect both current and future threats in this area," the expert said.
On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said at a meeting with the president that Russia could create its own system of Prompt Global Strike, but would reflect on a defensive doctrine.
US Prompt Global Strike system provides for the establishment of a hypersonic vehicle, its prototype is already being tested. It can carry out a high-precision non-nuclear strike from US territory at targets throughout the whole world about an hour after launch. This system is particularly dangerous because a non-nuclear strike can disarm nuclear forces.
