Russian "Barguzin" strategic missile trains may become an asymmetric response to NATO's complex European Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system deployed in Romania and Poland, military experts believe.

Russian designers have begun to create new elements of "Barguzin" — Russia's combat railway missile complex (BZhRK) aimed at transporting and launching strategic nuclear missiles.

Citing a military source with the knowledge of the matter, Russian Regnum news agency wrote that the project's exact completion date would be announced in early 2018. Back in 2014, Strategic Missile Forces Commander Col. Gen. Sergei Karakayev told journalists that the sketches of Russia's future railway-based missile complex had been finalized.

It was reported that the Russian Army may receive five Barguzin railroad ICBM systems by 2020. In late February 2016 the head of the Strategic Missile Forces' military education department, Viktor Nesterov, informed Echo Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) Radio that a new generation of ICBM-launching trains would enter the Army service in 2020.

Russian military experts regard the system as a powerful counterbalance against NATO's European Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system deployed by the United States in Eastern Europe.
On Thursday, the Pentagon military officials inaugurated their missile defense base in Deveselu , Romania. The Deveselu base is one of the first major European elements of the US global missile shield. The cornerstone of the military site is an Aegis Ashore missile defense system equipped with an AN/SPY-1 radar and vertical launchers for 24 Standard SM-3 Block IB missiles.

A similar ground-based Aegis system is currently
under construction in Poland . The Polish base is due to become operational in 2018.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed Thursday that the deployment of the elements of the US global missile shield in Europe undoubtedly poses a direct threat to the Russian Federation's security.

"From the very beginning we have said that, according to experts — and we are certain of this, undoubtedly — the deployment of missile defense systems indeed poses a threat to the security of the Russian Federation," Peskov told reporters.

The Pentagon and NATO war planners have been "encircling" Russia since the end of the Cold War seeking to nullify the country's nuclear deterrence capability. However, with Barguzin nuclear trains the threat would be seriously mitigated.

The crux of the matter is that the Russian BZhRK looks similar to any other ordinary cargo train and cannot be detected by an adversary. The elusive nuke complex also moves constantly across the system of the country's railroads. It is worth mentioning that the Russian railways are ranked second longest globally. In general, the combat railway missile complex can pass up to 1,000 kilometers daily.

The first BZhRKs entered the Soviet Army service in 1987 but were completely decommissioned in 2007 in accordance with the START II (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) treaty between the US and Russia.

However, the modernized BzhRK Barguzin system does not violate the provisions of the New START treaty signed by Moscow and Washington on April 8, 2010, in Prague.

Each Barguzin train will be armed with six ICBMs RS-24 Yars which could be brought into firing position within minutes. Furthermore, Barguzins will be also equipped with advanced electronic warfare systems and a sophisticated stealth technology.

Russian military expert Leonid Nersisyan notes in his article for Regnum, that Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in the early 2000s prompted serious concerns in Moscow and forced Russian military planners to seek new ways to counter potential threats.

The other destabilizing factor is the Pentagon's Prompt Global Strike (PGS) concept, Nersisyan underscores. The US is developing a system that can deliver a precision-guided conventional weapon airstrike at targets throughout the world within one hour using hypersonic weapons.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly signaled that Washington's efforts at implementing the European BMD and creating Prompt Global Strike (PGS) weapon systems is
dealing a blow to the ongoing talks on nuclear disarmament between the countries.

However, Nersisyan stresses that the Russian BZhRKs will nullify the challenge posed by the US Prompt Global Strike (PGS) concept.

Appleyard:
The new arm race era has just begun. Only God can help us now.

Appleyard:


The new arm race era has just begun. Only God can help us now.

NaijaTalkTown:
Europe is about to make America much more richer. But that is none of my business. My problem is that the bear's redline has been crossed. They will now face the full wrath of the Russian aggression.

Shym3xx:


How's Europe going to make America richer? Most of European techs are indigenous, while most of US techs have a lot of Europeans components. So if European countries were to increase their defence budgets - it will most likely boost the indigenous manufacturing/defence sector. While the US on the other hand would continue to buy European components for its defence industry. Also, most of the money spent on all these unnecessary missiles the US stays putting everywhere isn't coming from European countries - that's the US.

The UK has its own technology and defence industry (BAE, Rolls-Royce, Babcock etc.). Ditto France, Germany, Italy, Sweden et al. And most of these companies supply some of the most important components of the US military industrial complex.

Regardless, most European countries are broke and most of the countries in Western Europe don't have time for no arms race, only those in the Baltic and part of Eastern Europe. And those are perpetual scrounger with no money to spend. The US is the one footing the bills.

scully95:
I think they have it before, they shut it down due to a treaty I think one treaty but U.S has broken all the treaties and Russia is now bringing it back.

One thing about this Train is that, you can never track it, highly mobile and I think Russia is building more invisible of this type.

NaijaTalkTown:
No that's not what I meant. When I said America, I was referring to the country America not Americans. And the country America is made up of the 1 percent ruling class of the conglomerate called America. They will now use Russia's bids to upgrade its military to match the new reality as a pretext to tell Americans that their friends in Europe are being bullied (Russian aggression) and if Americans don't pay a lot of money (tax), they may be consumed by the Russian aggression. Europe is one of the main reasons or excuse the hawks in the US gives to enable them steal tax payers money is Russia's aggression, and no doubt, Russia will respond to US' violation of START with some aggressive military 'events' which of course the US won't be able to do anything about other than whinning and taxing their people.

NaijaTalkTown:
Yeah Russia developed such weapons in the 80s but got rid of them in 2007 due to an agreement they had with NATO. But the offense shield recently deployed in Romania by NATO violated that agreement and Russia will bring back those weapons now. Imagine light speed rails running through secret underground tunnels in your country with nukes. How do you stop a nuclear missile on your own territory without hurting yourself? How?

Igbiboi:



Bro, please can you explain the bolded? How do you mean secret underground tunnels, are they going to dig tunnel into another country and pass the tunnel into another country? Please explain.

NaijaTalkTown:
Well to you, that is wishful thinking but to Russians, nothing is impossible. If Is real can dig underground tunnels in Palestine and vice versa. The essence of the train will be useless if the train tracks are cut off from Russia so the only possible way to get them running into those countries is through secret underground tunnels and if that's what Russia gotta do, they will do it (in your face!).