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Putin, before vote, unveils 'invincible' nuclear weapons to counter West
President Vladimir Putin unveiled an array of new nuclear weapons on Thursday, in one of his most bellicose speeches in years, saying they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a U.S.-built missile shield. [...] His remarks were greeted with scepticism in Washington, where officials cast doubt on whether Russia has added any new capabilities to its nuclear arsenal beyond those already known to the U.S. military and intelligence agencies.
[...] Among weapons that Putin said were either in development or ready was a new intercontinental ballistic missile "with a practically unlimited range" able to attack via the North and South Poles and bypass any missile defense systems.
Putin also spoke of a small nuclear-powered engine that could be fitted to what he said were low-flying, highly maneuverable cruise missiles, giving them a practically unlimited range. The new engine meant Russia was able to make a new type of weapon - nuclear missiles powered by nuclear rather than conventional fuel. "Nothing like it in the world exists," Putin told the audience. "At some point it will probably appear (elsewhere) but by that time our guys will have devised something else."
Other new super weapons he listed included underwater nuclear drones, a supersonic weapon and a laser weapon. In one of his video clip demos, a weapon appeared to be hovering over what looked like a map of the state of Florida.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 02 2018, @05:55AM (2 children)
This is a very practical weapon. No need for submariners, provisions or extra equipment for life support. A lot of subs are nuclear now, anyway, so no real diff there. Development cost similar to manned submarines, but operation costs should be less. Missions can be longer; think sleeping at the bottom of the ocean for years.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 02 2018, @06:22AM (1 child)
Communication underwater is pretty damn awful. You won't be driving that sub around with VR goggles. It has to be autonomous.
Autonomous stuff is lacking in brain power.
Sitting on the bottom of the ocean is kind of crap. The sub can be located, then targeted when the enemy feels the moment is right. The sub can be destroyed or just... modified. You have to keep moving for security, but then the dumb computer program can crash and piss off the world with a nuclear reactor problem.
If the sub is close enough to run a communication cable, then you don't need the sub to be nuclear. Simply plug in the power cord.
(Score: 2) by TGV on Friday March 02 2018, @07:42AM
> piss off the world with a nuclear reactor problem
That's something Putin doesn't care about. He'll just add an insult to injury.