Thirty years after the end of the Cold War, Russia's president Vladimir Putin
is once more sending ships out to sea armed with nuclear weapons. The move has alarmed
NATO and the rest of the world, especially as the situation in Ukraine deteriorates
further and the war approaches its 1 year anniversary on February 24th.
Norway has traditionally been NATO's front line naval picket against Russian seafaring forces. The
nation has invested heavily, with the aid of its NATO partners, in ocean monitoring capabilities,
knowing that it would be on the frontline of any confrontation between NATO and the
Warsaw Pact. Keeping track of exactly what ships and how many of them made the
transit towards the Atlantic could mean the difference between victory or defeat at sea.
Thus the nation was the first to sound the alarm about the departure of a number of vessels from
the Russian Northern Fleet, all of which were equipped with nuclear weapons. This marks the
first time that Russian surface ships have taken to sea armed with nukes since the end
of the Cold War, when global nuclear tensions finally eased after decades of hairtrigger
alert. Details remain scarce at the moment, but it appears as if the ships are armed with
the same tactical nuclear weapons they would have carried back in the bad old days of the Cold War.
Russian nuclear weapons at sea is nothing new- Russian ballistic missile submarines
have been patrolling the world's oceans on a near constant state of readiness, at least when
they aren't accidentally blowing themselves up and sinking. As part of Russia's nuclear triad,
these nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines do the same job their American counterparts do-
ensure an element of nuclear deterrence can survive a surprise first-strike. Typically,
Russia's nuclear boats remain close to its shores and under the relative safety
of the polar ice cap, as it's no secret that their submarines are priority number
one targets for the US Navy. In fact, for much of the second half of the Cold War,
US attack submarines regularly followed Russian nuclear boats on their patrols, ready to blow
them out of the water before they could launch their weapons. This was largely thanks to the
advantage in silencing and sensor technology the US enjoyed, as well as its formidable SOSUS
underwater surveillance system. A traitor revealed the capabilities of SOSUS to the Soviets and the
Soviet navy made great strides in silencing their new boats, making it difficult for US subs to
continue tracking them. Just to be safe though, Russian nuclear subs continue to remain close to
shore where they can be supported by aircraft and are harder to track through polar ice.
What makes the recent deployment of Russian ships such a provocation then is the fact
that these ships are taking to sea with nukes for an entirely different purpose.
Rather than carrying long-range ballistic nuclear missiles, Russian surface ships such
as its Kirov class battlecruisers carry shorter range tactical nuclear weapons. These nukes had
one and only one job during the Cold War- take on American carrier battle groups. The Soviet
Union knew that victory in Europe would depend entirely on making sure that the US Navy was
unable to secure the convoy routes for its heavy material making the transit from the US to Europe,
but to threaten US convoys it would have to face down the might of America's carrier battle groups.
This was no easy proposition for a nation with no aircraft carriers of its own,
and is the entire reason that the Kirov class nuclear-powered battlecruisers
were developed. Taking on US carriers with long-range bombers was an option,
but a very expensive one. The Soviet Union expected it would have to expend 100 bomber
aircraft armed with long-range anti-ship missiles to take down a single US carrier,
and fully expected that not a single bomber would make the return trip home. Even with the vast
numbers of Soviet weapons, this was simply not a feasible option for taking on up to a
dozen of America's super carriers, requiring the sacrifice of 1200 Soviet bombers and their crews.
Thus the battlecruiser was developed, powered by a nuclear reactor and with armor to make
even the biggest World War II battleships weep. The logic was simple- if carrier battle groups
can't be destroyed from the air, then it would come down to a slugging match between ships,
and the Kirov class was well suited for swapping bodyblows with the US Navy's surface ships,
all of which it outmassed by many tons. A Kirov battlecruiser would shrug off American
Harpoon anti-ship missiles until it was close enough to launch its massive Granit anti-ship
missiles. Each Granit carried a warhead of over 1600 pounds (750 kg) of high explosives,
compared to the puny 488 pound (221 kg) warhead of American Harpoons.
But US air defenses were formidable, and even supersonic Granits make for big targets. That's
why Soviet fleets could also carry tactical nuclear weapons. With nuclear weapons,
precision is entirely optional, and even a wide miss by a 50 megaton warhead would
cause serious damage to a US surface action group. When you consider that a Russian
fleet could carry dozens of these weapons alongside big Granit anti-ship missiles,
it was enough to give any American air defense operator a rather big headache.
Russia's modern redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons on its ships can mean only
one thing- it's once more preparing to use nuclear weapons against far superior NATO
naval forces. During the Cold War, the Russian fleet was outclassed by just the US- today the
odds are even more firmly stacked against it as Russia's navy has seen massive neglect since the
end of the Cold War. But nuclear weapons are very, very good at leveling the playing field.
Yet, all is not as it seems. The news seem bad- if Russia is deploying nuclear
weapons on its surface vessels then some fear that it may be preparing to stop US
reinforcements traveling to Europe once more, like in the Cold War. This would hint at a
widening of the conflict in Ukraine, perhaps a preparation for a direct war against NATO.
To say that this would be suicidal is an understatement. For starters,
no Russia surface vessel could ever come within firing range of a NATO battlegroup.
With NATO forces enjoying air dominance thanks to its fleet of aircraft carriers,
and NATO submarines prowling the Atlantic in anticipation of Russian aggression,
these nuclear-armed vessels would very quickly become nuclear-armed artificial reefs.
As usual, Russia's deployment of nuclear weapons is nothing more than silly posturing. As the war
in Ukraine turns increasingly against it, and NATO begins to move on sending heavy
equipment to Ukraine, Russia must turn to increasingly desperate tactics to try to
deter NATO support. To be blunt, the Russian military would be absolutely annihilated in a
conventional war against NATO in Europe. And that's before its losses in Ukraine.
Factoring in current losses and troop commitments in Ukraine, NATO going to
war against Russia would be the equivalent of John Cena dropkicking a baby seal in the chest.
Russia has nothing left with which to intimidate or coerce NATO into stopping its support for
Ukraine- except for nuclear weapons. This is why Putin has stopped his nuclear sabre-rattling but
has done nothing about letting his subordinates make all the nuclear threats they want. In fact,
it's extremely probable that this is by design. After catching flak and losing political support
for his vague nuclear threats last year, Putin has put on the facade of a responsible world leader-
and passed the nuclear blackmail and intimidation on to every other member of his government.
His goal is simple- to make you, our dear viewer, terrified of a nuclear conflict. The
more the media talks about nukes and the more they bring up, quote- escalation- end quote,
the more scared Europeans become, and the less likely they are to continue supporting Ukraine.
That's why it's important to have a sober attitude about any nuclear threats from Russia,
or the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on its north sea vessels. These ships pose no
threat to Europeans and would be sunk before launching their weapons in case of war. Putin
is a lot of things, but he's not suicidal and he's not a lunatic as many try to portray
him. The fact is, you are on the front line of an information war for the fate of Ukraine,
and the survival of the Ukrainian people as well as Europe's security future is in your hands.
What if NATO and the US wanted to neutralize these ships though? What options are on the table?
First thing would be fixing the positions of these ships. Thankfully NATO has an extensive
capability to detect and track Russian ships, something it’s been doing since the earliest
days of the Cold War. A system of underwater sensors and shore-based radars stretching from
Greenland to Norway would be used to detect and track the small Russian fleet, supplemented by
airborne assets stationed in Norway and Britain. If push came to shove, or NATO believed these
ships posed an immediate threat, the alliance could choose to escalate to kinetic solutions.
It’s safe to assume that nowadays there’s not a single formation of Russian vessels
that isn’t being constantly shadowed by NATO submarines. Diesel electric subs are best suited
to short duration operations, but American and British nuclear-powered submarines are perfect
for tracking and staying in close contact with Russian ships. Due to their nuclear reactors,
they have even greater endurance than the ships they are tracking,
and their incredibly stealthy characteristics means that there’s an excellent chance they could
open fire on Russian surface vessels and escape before being fired upon.
However, NATO also has formidable long-range anti-ship missiles at
its disposal such as the Harpoon, Kormoran 2, and AGM-119 Penguin. The US’s new LRASM,
long range anti-ship missile, even features stealthy characteristics and a classified range
that allows aircraft to engage enemy ships from outside their air defense envelopes.
To get to the safety of open sea, Russian ships have to pass through a gauntlet of
NATO anti-ship defenses, which is one major reason why Russia never invested as heavily
into its navy as the west did. In case of war with NATO, the Russian fleet is
simply not survivable if it attempts to break out into the Atlantic, and the addition of
Finland and Sweden to the alliance only further squeezes the noose around the Russian navy.
In short, Putin’s arming of his surface ships with nuclear weapons is nothing
more than a pointless show of force, but the old Russian bear has long ago lost its teeth.
No go unwind with I survived 100 days of alien invasion, or click this other video instead!