Reference News Network, November 25 report: Australia's Lowy Institute website published an article on November 24 titled "Cheap Weapons Reshaping the Nature of War," authored by R.N. Prashad. The full translation is as follows:

Protracted and seemingly intractable Ukraine war has given a clear lesson to weapon strategists around the world — currently existing missiles, whether offensive or defensive, only have deterrent value when equipped with nuclear warheads. When these missiles carry conventional warheads, their costs are daunting and unsustainable in a protracted war.

Both Russia and Ukraine have mainly used drones to maintain the confrontation. Although both sides have also used ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, their usage has been decreasing due to high replenishment costs.

Meanwhile, the use of drones has rapidly changed to meet the needs of air and sea attacks. Ironically, expensive missiles are sometimes used to suppress these cheap drones.

At the same time, various low-cost new technologies have emerged to address this problem.

The latest of these technologies is Japan's electromagnetic railgun. This weapon has recently completed sea trials.

Japan's tests of the electromagnetic railgun prototype seem to bring this weapon closer to operational deployment. The relatively inexpensive fin-stabilized shells left a cross-shaped hole in the target ship's hull. This weapon, installed on warships, is said to be able to fire 200 rounds, making each launch cost just a fraction of a missile's cost.

Shortly before Japan announced the test firing, Russia announced the successful test firing of the "Zircon" missile, which uses nuclear propulsion. President Putin stated that the missile flew over 14,000 kilometers in 15 hours. He also admitted that "a lot of work must still be done to put this weapon into combat missions." However, the gap between prototype testing and actual deployment has been steadily narrowing for years.

The "Zircon" missile seems unlikely to be used in its current form, even with conventional warheads. Upon impact, the missile would cause the target's nuclear reactor to disintegrate, dispersing radioactive material like a dirty bomb. More likely, Russia will develop a version capable of returning. Given the Zircon's long endurance, it could be used to launch multiple cruise missiles across multiple continents and then return to base. This would be more cost-effective than delivering such warheads via intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Will the development of such low-cost munitions make wars more frequent and longer?

The answer may lie in the various low operating cost new technologies mentioned above. The preferred defense weapon now seems to be laser beams. Israel claimed this year that it has become the first country to use a high-energy laser weapon system to shoot down incoming drones.

Two years ago, British scientists demonstrated this technology. Like the electromagnetic railgun, the challenge of high power demand was overcome in a short period of time.

The dilemma of using a $1 million missile to destroy a $5,000 drone is about to be resolved. Cheaper and more lethal weapons and delivery systems will certainly increase the tendency to attack. Widespread low operating cost defense systems may be the only deterrent force. (Translated by Qiu Fang)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7576508029290447360/

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