Weapons

What Russia’s newly announced nuclear systems actually mean

Standing in front of an enormous backdrop depicting an outline of his nation’s boundaries — Crimea jutting out at the far left — Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his annual state of the nation address on Thursday. In the tradition of Steve Jobs’s old Apple keynotes, Putin saved the major hardware announcements for the end.

The Russian military, he said, had developed a number of significant new military systems. One was a nuclear-powered drone submarine that could be deployed to initiate nuclear strikes around the world. Another was a new form of hypersonic missile that is much harder to detect by defense systems. Those missiles, too, could be armed with nuclear warheads.

Most remarkably, Putin announced a new form of nuclear-powered cruise missile that also could initiate a nuclear strike. The advantage of using nuclear power for the missile is simple: Its range would be extended significantly. That extension is central to the geopolitics behind Putin’s announcements.