Russia plans to resume production of medium- and short-range nuclear ballistic missiles

30 June, 2024 Iskander SRBM. Photo from open sources Russia is seeking to resume production of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles that will use nuclear warheads.

The Russian President stated this during a video conference with members of the Security Council. According to Putin, this step is due to the fact that the United States, without officially withdrawing from the INF Treaty, has started developing missiles with a range of more than 500 km as part of ground-based tactical systems. That is why Russia is now planning to respond to these actions by the United States and resume production of medium- and short-range missiles to prepare for provocative actions by the United States and NATO.

Launch of a Tomahawk cruise missile by the Typhon ground-based system. Photo credits: US Army

"The United States withdrew from this treaty under a false pretext and announced that it would produce such missile systems," Putin said.

He also emphasized the recent US-Danish exercises, when the US Navy and the Danish Army Home Guard conducted a training deployment of the Mk.70 PDS system on the island of Bornholm. The Ministry of Defense of the Kingdom of Denmark noted that the deployment of the system was a training exercise for American units and had nothing to do with the increased maritime threat in the Baltic. Putin also said that the United States has already deployed these systems in the Philippines, which puts Russia at a disadvantage.

It should be noted that, in turn, representatives of the Pentagon and NATO emphasize that Russia has long had missiles that violate the INF Treaty, as the maximum range of the 9M729 missile to the Iskander missile system is much longer. It was Russia's adoption of the 9M729 missile that led to the US withdrawal from the treaty and the start of the development of its own systems.

A 9M729 missile for the Iskander missile system. Photo credits: Russian media

It should be noted that in addition to the United States and Russia, China also produces short- and medium-range missiles, which, in addition to ground-based launchers, are mounted on aircraft.

Militarnyi previously reported that a photo of a Xian H-6N jet bomber with an air-to-air anti-ship missile appeared on Chinese social media. The new missile system is reportedly called the YJ-21. Experts believe that the missile's homing warhead is maneuverable and hypersonic.

The missile's range is assumed to be up to 1,500 kilometers, and its speed is nine Mach.