MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. The launch of the newest medium-range ballistic missile Oreshnik is sudden and catches the enemy by surprise, because it is undetectable for spy satellites, military analyst Igor Korotchenko has told TASS.
"A distinctive feature of the medium-range missile system Oreshnik is, firstly, a very short boost phase - the moment of launch, when the missile is just gaining velocity and remains most vulnerable to the impact of various means of interception," said Korotchenko, the editor-in-chief of National Defense magazine. "The launch is carried out from a position unexpectedly for the enemy. Oreshnik boasts high mobility. It is launched with a mobile ground missile system. There is no chance for satellite reconnaissance to identify its location at any given moment, provided a set of essential secrecy and camouflage measures are taken," Korotchenko said.
According to the analyst, the missile then goes into near space. The separation of combat units is carried out when it is still in the ballistic trajectory.
"Each of the combat units is targeted and carries out the strike independently. Also, it performs an anti-missile maneuver. Each warhead is equipped with its own propulsion system, which leaves no chance for interception means - such as the US strategic missile defense system, which could theoretically try to intercept Oreshnik - to calculate the point of interception and neutralize the warhead. This medium-range system - as Vladimir Putin has said, has a range of operation of 5,500 kilometers: its kill zone will spread first and foremost to NATO’s member- countries in Europe," the analyst added.
The range of the Oreshnik system is up to 5,500 kilometers, President Vladimir Putin said in a combined year-end question-and-answer session and press conference. He remarked that there was no chance of shooting down these missiles.
On November 21, Putin said that the Russian Armed Forces had used the Oreshnik against a facility of Ukraine's military-industrial complex, the Yuzhmash plant in Dnepr, in response to attacks on Russian military facilities in the Kursk and Bryansk regions by British and US-made missiles. He warned of dire consequences of the West's provocative policies in case of a further escalation of the conflict.