Russia is just about to throw a nasty surprise on the US and its Nato allies, and is possibly close to dumping the decades-old cold war era military balance into history. As many as five cutting-edge weapons are in the making, and these are designed to have an upper hand over the US and Nato arsenal, none other than Russia's deputy prime minister has said.
The new weapon system will have no equals in the world, according to Yury Borisov, the Russian deputy prime minister.
These are the Russian claims:
- Moscow has unleashed an unprecedented re-armament process
- The aim is to create world-dominating weapons
- The weapons will beat even the futuristic arsenal of the rival powers
- The highlight is the Sarmat ICBM that penetrate US missile defences just anywhere in the world
- The fifth-generation Su-57 stealth fighter will beat the F-35 of the US in capability
- The S-500 'Prometheus' long-range air defence system is capable of shooting down F-22 raptors and F-35 jets.
These killer weapons will be deployed between 2018 and 2027, Defence News reported, citing Russian sources. President Vladimir Putin had unveiled an ambitious plan to modernise the Russian military during his state of the nation address in March.
The following are the five most advanced weapons in the making in Russia, according to Defence News:
Sarmat ICBM
This heavy intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) can carry "massive payloads across the North or the South pole to anywhere on the planet." The missile is undergoing testing, and will be deployed in service as early as 2020.
This will carry a hypersonic glider warhead, codenamed Avangard, which can fly in the atmosphere at speeds of over Mach 20, the report said.
Fifth-generation Su-57 stealth fighter
The report cites Military Watch magazine to note that this has advantage over the F-35 jets of the US. The fighter will have autonomous battlefield avionics and is a steep upgrade of the ageing Su-27.
T-14 Armata Tank
As many as 100 units of the advanced Armata-based T-14 main battle tanks will be made available to the army by 2020. The tank will have fully automated turret "equipped with a 125mm cannon capable of hitting its targets at a range of seven kilometers," the report says.
S-500 air defence architecture
The S-500 'Prometheus will be an upgrade on the existing S-400 Triumf air defence system. The new system will be capable of "hitting targets at a range of up to 480 kilometers and could successfully intercept hypersonic missiles, as well as shoot down F-22 raptor and F-35 jets," according to the report.
Nudol missile defence shield
Russia says the Nudol' missile defence shield can withstand all existing modern ICBMs. It's even rumoured to be capable of shooting down satellites.
