Forbes wrote about US ‘missile surprise’ for Russia in Crimea

By Boyko Nikolov On Nov 27, 2020

WASHINGTON, (BM) – The US Army last week fired several rockets during a training exercise near a Russian outpost on the Black Sea. This was a message for Russians, according to Forbes, learned BulgarianMilitary.com.

The article says that on November 19, the American military from the Ramstein airbase in Germany transferred two HIMARS long-range missile systems to Romania, fired several missiles, and then hastily returned the combat vehicles to a base in Germany. All this happened within a few hours, the text specifies. “This was clearly a message for Moscow. The US Army in Europe has regained its long-range firepower. And she wants the Russians to know this,” the newspaper writes.

According to the author of the article, the high speed of these air deployments makes counter-battery resistance difficult, since it is difficult to get into a rocket launcher that is close to enemy forces for only a few hours. As noted by Forbes, the 12-ton HIMARS carries six missiles with a diameter of approximately 27 cm, capable of covering a distance of up to 40 miles (64 km), or one army tactical missile system with a range of 100 miles (161 km).

On August 9, the head of the Pentagon, Mark Esper, announced that the United States was regrouping its forces in Europe in order to advance to the borders of Russia. According to him, Washington intends to strengthen the “containment” of the Russian Federation and therefore is building up its military presence at the Russian borders.

On the same day, the head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Konstantin Kosachev, said that the build-up of the US military presence in Europe entails a degradation in the security sphere on the continent.

American F-15s and F-16s may oppose Russian S-400 because of a new laser system

After Russia launched its S-400 anti-aircraft missile system on international markets, many analysts, including the US, confirmed that Russia’s air defense system is the best at the moment and difficult to counter today.

There are many reasons for this, but one of the most important is the ability of the Russian system to detect stealth fighters through its radar. Another main reason is the range of missiles of the system – 400 km.

The Americans may have solved this problem by developing a new laser anti-missile system to be integrated into the weapons arsenal of their fourth-generation F-15 and F-16 missiles, learned BulgarianMilitary.com. In this way, such a system would be able to shoot down a missile fired at it by the Russian S-300 or S-400 air defense system. At the same time, by shooting down the missile, the Americans actually eliminated the great importance attached so far to the excellent Russian radar installation that drives the S-300 and S-400.

According to a journalist from the magazine Popular Mechanics, this is the SHiELD anti-missile laser system developed by Lockheed Martin, which actually means Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator. According to Pentagon sources, the United States plans to equip its F-15 and F-16 by mid-2021 with similar systems that will allow the two fighters to become virtually vulnerable to impact from this type of missile. In the United States, SHiELD is better known as the “deadly ray.”

The authors of the publication in the magazine Popular Mechanics claim that the laser missile defense will be located on the fuselage of the fighters, or in extreme cases on the wing of the fighter. In this way, the aircraft and the pilot will be able to shoot down surface-to-air missiles and air-to-air missiles. According to Pentagon sources, the capacity of the new laser will be estimated at about tens of kilowatts, and the laser itself will be assisted by controlled control by artificial intelligence.

Many military experts believe that the voltage of the laser system is quite sufficient to shoot down such missiles. Military experts confirm that these are not just standard missiles, but also those fired by S-300 or S-400. However, Russia’s response may not be late, on the contrary – Moscow may have foreseen a similar scenario and has been working on another project for at least 12 months – launching hypersonic anti-aircraft guided missiles. In this case, the new US aviation laser will prove useless against this type of missile.

As we wrote a few days ago, Russia is starting mass production of its latest S-500 anti-aircraft missile system, which will work with hypersonic missiles, have a range of 600 km and will have the power to even launch satellites into low orbit.

However, things are developing quite dynamically and new information is constantly appearing from the two camps of the former Cold War. Most recently, the United States announced that it had involved four American companies and a university in developing an artificial intelligence system to be integrated into US Air Force aircraft. This system will not only assist pilots in the air in direct combat, but will also detect targets itself and destroy them. By the end of 2023, the Americans are expected to have a similar system and it will begin its integration into certain drones and fighters.

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