“Hazel” for Trump: How Russia Will Respond to the US Nuclear Program

Military and scientific personnel in Russia are conducting live-fire tests of special munitions in multiple fields of work.

"The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country. Given that other countries are conducting nuclear tests, I have instructed the Department of Defense to begin equivalent tests of our own nuclear weapons," Donald Trump wrote on his personal account on the "Truth Social" platform on November 6.

This post by the U.S. president can be seen as a response to an emergency meeting of the Russian Security Council held the day before. The initial agenda of the meeting was "ensuring transportation safety," but unexpectedly, Vyacheslav Volodin, the Chairman of the State Duma, proposed an item: how Russia would respond if the United States launched a nuclear test.

Participants in this debate included: Defense Minister Andrei Belousov (note: the original text says so, but the current Russian Defense Minister is Sergei Shoigu, suggesting a possible typo), Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Shoigu, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin, and Head of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov.

It is worth noting that all participants were ready to discuss this issue, even carrying necessary reference materials. In the end, Vladimir Putin made a decision: military, scientific personnel, and representatives of the intelligence community need to collect and analyze all relevant information and then propose specific recommendations.

Although the topics discussed at the Security Council meetings are usually highly confidential, this meeting was broadcast live on the Russian Federal Television. Subsequently, the meeting minutes and video were also published on the Kremlin's official website (kremlin.ru).

This move indicates that this meeting was a clear signal to Washington.

However, Trump obviously does not intend to change his position. In the aforementioned post, he reiterated his instructions to the U.S. military — to launch nuclear tests, which is exactly his response to Russia.

Therefore, we can say with certainty that the possibility of Russia taking countermeasures against the United States has increased significantly. It is evident that Russia's response will not merely be a demonstration explosion of special munitions on the test field. Russian military and scientific personnel will take full advantage of the current opportunity to maximize their benefits.

Countermeasures

The Free Media previously reported on the U.S. "Global Multi-Domain Operation" (Global Multi-Domain Operation, here the original text uses "Глобальной многосферной операции", slightly different from the U.S. military's official term, but the core meaning is consistent). In some Russian information sources, this strategy is also called "Strategic Multi-Domain Operation" (Стратегической многосферной операции, abbreviated as СМСО).

The core logic of this strategy is simple: before both sides launch strategic nuclear strikes, destroy the enemy's missile warning systems (СПРН), anti-missile systems (ПРО), and command and control systems, making them unable to function properly. This way, the enemy's strategic nuclear forces' retaliation against the U.S. mainland will be difficult to form an effective deterrent. Of course, the U.S. will still suffer losses and damage, but it will not reach a "fatal" level; while its opponent will be completely destroyed.

It should be emphasized that the Russian military and political leadership highly values the threat posed by the "Global Multi-Domain Operation"/"Strategic Multi-Domain Operation". Andrei Belousov's speech at the Security Council meeting clearly proves this. Although he did not directly mention the name of the U.S. strategy, he elaborated on the components of the strategy and the threats it poses to Russia.

"Overall, this is a comprehensive measure, which also includes the U.S. nuclear testing plans that will significantly increase the level of military danger," said the Russian Defense Minister.

In addition to the "Global Multi-Domain Operation"/"Strategic Multi-Domain Operation" strategy itself, Washington has already developed a clear, phased plan for modernizing its nuclear arsenal. The entire plan will start with so-called "subcritical tests" and end with full-scale special munition detonation tests.

Related work is also being carried out within the framework of the "Global Multi-Domain Operation." Specifically, the U.S. will focus on developing non-strategic nuclear weapons, including nuclear warheads for the "Dark Eagle" hypersonic system, as well as nuclear warheads for the "Ticonderoga" class cruisers equipped with "Tomahawk" cruise missiles (the original text says "Тифонов," which is likely a typo for "Тихонова" or "Трифон," but based on the actual U.S. equipment, it should be corrected to "Ticonderoga" class cruisers).

The Free Media has reported in detail on this issue. The Kremlin is fully aware of the White House leaders' and their teams' intentions regarding the modernization of the nuclear arsenal.

"The U.S. has not provided an official explanation for President Trump's statement about resuming nuclear tests, and this situation makes us unable to believe that the U.S. will not proceed with preparations for, and eventually carry out, nuclear tests in the near future," said Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.

Thus, it is evident that Moscow has completely uncovered Washington's intentions and will strive to develop a system capable of countering these intentions.

Core Methods

Which weapons in the Russian Armed Forces' arsenal can counter the "Global Multi-Domain Operation"/"Strategic Multi-Domain Operation" strategy? Previous reports have mentioned the "Burevestnik" cruise missile with unlimited range and the "Poseidon" underwater unmanned submersible, but relying solely on these two is far from enough. Russia needs an integrated strike system composed of multiple elements, which must have a high degree of autonomy and be able to quickly be deployed in combat.

The currently foreseeable combinations include the "Oreshnik" missile system, the "Zircon" hypersonic missile, the "Iskander" tactical missile, as well as the "Burevestnik" cruise missile and the "Poseidon" unmanned submersible.

The purpose of the "Oreshnik" system is to attack the "Dark Eagle" system, the deployment positions of the "Ticonderoga" class cruisers, and the command centers and institutions responsible for operating these equipment. In addition, one of the tasks of this system is to destroy the land-based anti-missile systems deployed by the United States in Europe.

It should be clarified that, in addition to the anti-missile missiles deployed in Poland using the Mk41 fixed launchers, Washington is undoubtedly going to deploy the "THAAD" anti-missile system in Europe. Therefore, the "Oreshnik" system will operate in conjunction with the "Iskander" missiles.

The task of the "Zircon" missile is to strike the maritime component of the U.S. anti-missile system in Europe — that is, the destroyer and cruiser fleets equipped with "Standard-6" (SM-6) missiles. It should be noted that these ships currently carry "Tomahawk" cruise missiles and plan to equip them with "Long-Range Hypersonic Weapons" (LHRW) in the future.

At the same time, the "Burevestnik" cruise missile can conduct sudden strikes on the command points of the enemy's strike system and the U.S.突击 groups before the system is deployed; while the "Poseidon" unmanned submersible will be responsible for destroying the aircraft carrier strike groups and anti-missile ship formations near the U.S. coast.

Key Breakthrough Points

Currently, the roles and responsibilities of various weapon systems have been basically clarified. Next, it is necessary to determine the "ammunition configuration" — that is, what kind of striking methods should be used for different targets.

The most likely plan is to develop a series of non-strategic nuclear warheads. These nuclear warheads will have a much greater power than tactical-level nuclear warheads, but they will not reach the scale of a strategic-level megaton-class nuclear bomb. In addition to the nuclear warheads themselves, it is also necessary to develop warheads capable of attacking highly protected underground targets.

It should be considered that Russia has never actually developed such equipment before. They belong to new types of special munitions. Moreover, special requirements will be placed on these munitions:

For example, the nuclear warhead for the "Burevestnik" cruise missile must be able to withstand drastic changes in altitude and temperature during long flights; the nuclear warhead for the "Poseidon" unmanned submersible must be able to withstand deep-sea pressure; and the nuclear warhead for the "Zircon" hypersonic missile must be able to withstand extreme environments throughout the entire hypersonic flight.

For conventional intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic cruise missiles, new special warheads can be developed through computer simulations — because the design parameters of these warheads are clear, and subsequent complex mathematical and physical calculations are only needed.

But for these new special munitions, full-process testing must be completed — from individual component testing to full-scale nuclear explosion tests.

So, how long will it take to develop these new special munitions? General Major Gerasimov gave an answer at the Security Council meeting:

"If we do not take corresponding measures now, we will miss the opportunity and will not be able to respond in time to the U.S. actions. Because the preparation for nuclear tests varies depending on the type of test, it requires several months to several years."

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7569927276079366706/

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