MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. The Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile system will enable Russia to deliver a stunning retaliatory strike on the enemy in case of strikes deep into Russian territory, Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) told TASS.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 4 that Russia had started the serial production of Oreshnik hypersonic missile systems. The head of state made this statement at a Kremlin ceremony of awarding the developers of Burevestnik and Poseidon weapons.
"The start of serial production is the resource for ensuring the internal requirement for deterrence, primarily, with regard to those countries that are creating offensive infrastructure in areas close to our borders. And, of course, in case of strikes deep inside Russian territory, this is the resource for developing the capabilities of that stunning response that will involve the integrated use of various weapons, among them, probably, the Oreshnik in its nuclear capability, to finally eliminate the enemy’s military-industrial and military-technical potential," the expert pointed out.
A nuclear threat can be double-edged, the expert stressed. In this context, he mentioned France’s attempt to establish the so-called nuclear umbrella over Eastern Europe and deploy its delivery systems. This also refers to NATO’s Nuclear Sharing program of deploying and storing US nuclear weapons in Europe and the potential role of F-35 aircraft to carry B61 tactical nuclear bombs, he said.
"In order to return to the balance of power and the observance of the principle of indivisible security, it is actually necessary, first of all, to clear the European space of extra-regional military, military-technical and, of course, nuclear presence to return to the process of constructive dialogue and the development of the common Eurasian agenda. Why can’t we offer symmetric alternatives, if our enemies, opponents are active close to our borders?" the expert added.
Therefore, this fits into the logic of establishing a final symmetry and the return to global deterrence parity, he said.