WASHINGTON, March 17. /TASS/. Russia's cutting-edge Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile system could potentially cripple NATO's operational readiness in a hypothetical war between the two parties, no nuclear weapons needed, a US expert wrote in the Foreign Policy magazine.

"The good news is the Oreshnik’s conventional capabilities will give Russia more non-nuclear options, theoretically lessening the risk that the Kremlin would contemplate using nuclear weapons early in a conflict. The bad news is the Oreshnik’s non-nuclear capacities mean Russia will have more options to significantly disrupt NATO operations at the conventional level," believes Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at CNA, a Washington-based nonprofit research and analysis organization.

The expert says that the Oreshnik is the perfect weapon for attacking dense targets like air bases, where its conventional submunitions can deal significant damage.

"A mass Russian strike with conventional Oreshnik missiles on NATO strategic sites – such as air bases, command and control facilities, and missile bases—could leave NATO reeling without [Russian President Vladimir] Putin using nuclear arms," the US expert wrote.

In his opinion, a strike by Oreshnik missiles on such targets would seriously undermine NATO’s aviation capabilities.

"Modern fighter aircraft—particularly the F-35, which multiple NATO states increasingly use as their multirole aircraft of choice—are too complex to be repaired in the field. F-35s and similar aircraft were designed to be supported by large, sophisticated air bases. Decades of budget cuts have concentrated NATO’s airpower in only a handful of these bases, making them uniquely vulnerable to the Oreshnik’s shotgun-style munitions," Eveleth wrote.

As a potential remedy against the Oreshnik, the expert suggests dispersing NATO’s aircraft to "remote locations" throughout Europe, so they are harder for Russia to find, target, and destroy in case of a potential crisis.