Russia Demonstrates Strategic Superiority with Sarmat Missile Tests

ROME, May 13. /TASS/. The Sarmat and other new missile systems, as well as other types of weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads, demonstrate Russia’s superiority in the area of strategic deterrence, military expert Gianandrea Gaiani, the editor-in-chief of the Analisi Difesa portal, told TASS. "With these tests, Russia is underscoring its strategic capabilities, and this not only demonstrates deterrence, a function characteristic of all nuclear arsenals, but also demonstrates Russia’s superiority, since these weapons cannot be intercepted, located, and therefore neutralized," the expert said. He noted that this is not the first time Russia has demonstrated these new types of weapons, as he mentioned the Poseidon underwater vehicle with a compact nuclear propulsion system, the Russian Burevestnik intercontinental cruise missile with unlimited range, the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile, and, finally, the Sarmat missile system all together. "This is all a clear demonstration that Russia cannot be attacked, and that the country has offensive capabilities against which no enemy can defend," the expert added. Earlier, Commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces Sergey Karakayev briefed President Vladimir Putin on the successful launch of the Sarmat missile. The Russian Armed Forces plan to deploy the first regiment equipped with this intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by the end of the year. Putin noted that the Sarmat is the most powerful missile system in the world - four times more powerful than its most capable Western counterparts. Its operational range exceeds 35,000 km. The missile can move not only along a ballistic but also a suborbital trajectory, overcoming all existing and prospective anti-missile defense systems.