Second Cold War In Full Swing As Europe Becomes ’80s-Style ‘Continent Of Missiles’

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Written by Drago Bosnic, independent geopolitical and military analyst

During the (First) Cold War, Europe was at the center of a possible confrontation between US-led NATO and Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. By the 1980s, the two sides deployed thousands of medium and intermediate-range weapons, both ballistic and cruise missiles. The most prominent US Army unit equipped with such weapons was the 56th Artillery Command, deploying battalions armed with MGM-31 “Pershing I/Ia” and “Pershing II” nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. The former had a range of 740 km and carried a single warhead with a yield of up to 400 kt, while the latter’s maximum range was reported to have been 1770–2400 km, with a single 80 kt warhead. The US Army also deployed the GLCM (Ground Launched Cruise Missile), officially designated as the BGM-109G “Gryphon”, a subsonic cruise missile with a range of 2780 km and a single W84 thermonuclear warhead (yield of up to 150 kt, or approximately 10 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb).

It should be noted that the “Gryphon” was essentially a land-based version of the infamous “Tomahawk” cruise missile that the US Navy continues to use and upgrades on a regular basis (the latest variant being the Block 5). The Soviet Union had a plethora of missiles to match the US military, but the most prominent was the unrivaled RSD-10 “Pioneer” (NATO reporting name SS-20 “Saber”) solid-fueled ballistic missile with a range of up to 5800 km and the only IRBM (intermediate-range ballistic missile) capable of using three MIRV (multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles) warheads. These had a yield of 150 kt each or roughly 10 (30 altogether) times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. There was also the version with a single 1 Mt warhead that was around 67 times more destructive. At least 728 such IRBMs were made and you can imagine they would’ve turned Europe into a radioactive glass desert for the next several eons.

The USSR obviously had a massive advantage, but this would’ve hardly mattered given that both sides would’ve simply destroyed each other. Thus, the INF (Intermediate Nuclear Forces) Treaty was signed in 1987, prompting both sides to dismantle and destroy all of their medium and intermediate-range missiles. However, on August 2, 2019, the US unilaterally withdrew its signature, just like it did with all other crucial arms control treaties in the last 20-25 years. Just two years later, in 2021, meaning before the SMO (special military operation), the US Army reactivated the aforementioned 56th Artillery Command in Germany. Its units are equipped with the previously banned medium and intermediate-range missiles and the 56th is also planning to induct new platforms, such as the “Dark Eagle” hypersonic missile, although this weapon is yet to be delivered, as it’s still going through a rather rocky development.

However, while the US is having a lot of trouble with hypersonic missiles, an area in which it has been eclipsed even by North Korea, the Pentagon was quick to reinduct weapon systems that are already in the US military, albeit in other branches. It takes years to convert such weapons from sea to land-based platforms and after nearly half a decade, the US Army officially adopted the “Typhon” Weapon System last year. It can fire the land-based SM-6 multipurpose and “Tomahawk” cruise missiles. The latter can hit targets at ranges of approximately 1600 km. Their ability to carry the W80 thermonuclear warheads means that the old GLCM is effectively resurrected, while the very usage of the name “Typhon” indicates that the missile is a successor to the “Gryphon”. After the latest NATO summit in Washington DC, the US and Germany announced the definite deployment of these weapons in Europe, a move that will bring unprecedented escalation.

According to Deutsche Welle, on the sidelines of the NATO summit, “the two countries said that the ‘episodic deployments’ are in preparation for longer-term stationing of long-range capabilities that will include SM-6, ‘Tomahawk’ and developmental hypersonic weapons with longer range than the current capabilities in Europe”. These statements indicate several important things. First of all, the announcement of the end of “episodic deployments” means that these weapons are already in Germany and that their deployment will officially be made permanent in 2026, which is a mere formality that will simply legalize the current state of things. Second, the announcement doesn’t mention the “Typhon” platform, but this is already implied by the reference to its primary weapons, the SM-6 and “Tomahawk”. Third, the aforementioned “developmental hypersonic weapon” is most likely the “Dark Eagle”.

The Russian military has already taken all this into account and prepared a broad and adequate response. Apart from the existing hypersonic weapons it fields, by far the most advanced in the world, Moscow is also developing a plethora of other weapon systems that leave these American equivalents in the dirt. Back in April, it tested an unnamed type of IRBM that will essentially inherit the RSD-10 “Pioneer”. At the time, I argued that the missile in question was most likely the RS-26 “Rubezh”, a highly advanced maneuverable IRBM that can also carry hypersonic warheads or up to four standard MIRV ones with a yield of 300 kt each. These are approximately 20 (80 altogether) times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. With a range of up to 5800 km, it covers the entirety of Europe and even large parts of the US if deployed in the Russian Far East. Needless to say, the ability of NATO to shoot down such weapons is highly questionable, to put it mildly.

The US-led political West is essentially turning back the clock to a time when the world was on the edge of an abyss virtually every single day for nearly half a century. Worse yet, it can be argued that the current situation is even more dangerous, as the balance of power in Europe was destroyed by American expansionism. The NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict is the most obvious consequence of this, as Moscow was forced to intervene after Washington DC stated that it would station missiles on Ukrainian soil. Similar hostile actions are already underway in (formally) new NATO members such as Finland, where the US is now deploying units in at least 15 bases. This is without even considering the Pentagon’s virtually direct involvement in fighting Russian forces in Ukraine or America’s support for terrorist groups within Russia. If this continues, it’s only a matter of time when the Kremlin will lose its patience with US/NATO belligerence.

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