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posted by martyb on Friday March 02 2018, @04:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the duck-and-cover dept.

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.


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  • (Score: 2) by dry on Friday March 02 2018, @06:37PM (1 child)

    by dry (223) on Friday March 02 2018, @06:37PM (#646524) Journal

    Which raises the question of what safeguards are currently in place in Russia to make it hard for Putin to initiate a nuclear war? My understanding is the Soviets used a two button approach compared to America's one button approach. The one button approach is scary, especially when the potential button pusher just needs to win a popularity contest to be put in charge of that button.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 05 2018, @07:14AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 05 2018, @07:14AM (#647892)

    All of his people have investments, property and (grand)children in the West. If he decides to actually nuke it all he has a high probability of dying from the flu.