Weapons

Restoring strategic balance: The history of why Russia needs those scary missiles (VIDEO)

The history behind Russia’s hypersonic weapons stretches back decades. RT has prepared a handy video explaining why Moscow feels it needs the armaments after more than twenty years of US military expansion.

On March 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed a new class of weapons that can bypass US missile shields: The Kinzhal, a hypersonic missile that can travel at more than 10 times the speed of sound; Avangard, a hypersonic weapon that can fly up to twenty times the speed of sound and has aircraft-like maneuverability capable of circumventing missile defenses; Sarmat, a new intercontinental ballistic missile that can travel across the North and South Poles in order to avoid missile shields, and capable of carrying more than twenty warheads – five times more than the previous generation of Topol missiles; Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered cruise missile similar to the American Tomahawk but enjoying virtually unlimited range; Poseidon, an underwater drone that is submarine-launched and capable of traveling at depths that make them undetectable. Putin also unveiled Peresvet, a combat laser system that almost instantly delivers a deadly energy beam to its target.

Far from being an act of belligerence, the new weapons are meant to restore nuclear parity and strategic balance with Washington, which tossed out a key anti-ballistic missile treaty in 2002.