The Pentagon tests a medium-range missile

The Pentagon officially announced the testing of a ground-based cruise missile with an intermediate range of more than 500 km. The US held them less than seven months after the US and Russia suspended the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which bans ranges from 500 to 5,500 km. From the moment of testing, the contract can be considered dead de facto.

What happened. The US Department of Defense has published a short video of a vertical launch of a large missile from a transport container placed on a semi-trailer. The launch was carried out from a test site on San Nicolas Island, California.

Quote. “The prototype missile was launched from a ground mobile installation and successfully hit the target, flying more than 500 kilometers,” the Pentagon said in a statement. Officials emphasize that the missile uses a conventional warhead, not a nuclear one, notes . CNN

An important detail. The installation is a universal launch container Mk 41 VLS, mounted on a trailer, and the rocket itself is very similar to a regular Tomahawk. This is a rather rude gesture towards Russia, and a double one at that. Firstly, the Russian Ministry of Defense has repeatedly expressed fears that missiles violating the INF Treaty are being placed in the Mk 41 containers at the US missile defense base in Romania and the future base in Poland. Secondly, the prohibition and destruction of the ground-based Tomahawks was the USSR's key gain from the treaty at a time when there were no comparable missiles in the country.

• The day before, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the United States budgeted funds for the development of intermediate-range missiles a year ago, that is, when the treaty was still in effect. The minister reiterated that Russia would not respond symmetrically until new US missiles appeared in Europe and Asia.
• on ground-based launchers The US believes that Russia was the first to violate the INF Treaty by deploying the 9M729 cruise missile . US NATO allies are sure of the same: German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently said she regrets "Moscow's provable violation of the INF Treaty."
• In early August, the Russian Foreign Ministry officially announced the termination of the INF Treaty.

What's next. The only strategic nuclear deterrence treaty left in the world is START-3. In light of the new initiatives of the Trump team, its extension in 2020 is a big question.

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