The Novator 9M729 (SSC-8)[1] is a cruise missile developed by NPO Novator in Russia.[2][3][4] It gained significant attention when it led to the denunciation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) by the United States secretary of state Mike Pompeo in August 2019.[5]

History

The 9M729 missile class was initially banned by the INF Treaty, which was signed in December 1987.[6] By November 1990, six launchers containing 84 missiles were deployed at the Missile/Launcher Storage in Jelgava, located in still Soviet-occupied Latvia. However, these launchers and missiles were subsequently destroyed.[7][8][9]

In early 2017, US officials, along with analyst Jeffrey Lewis, alleged that Russia was violating the INF Treaty through the deployment of the 9M728 (SSC-7) and 9M729 (SSC-8)[10] missiles as part of the Iskander missile system. These missiles were regarded as variants of the earlier SS-C-4. According to US officials, two missile battalions equipped with the SSC-8 missiles were deployed by February 14, 2017, in violation of the INF Treaty.[8][11][12] Each battalion was composed of four launchers, with each launcher carrying potentially nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. One battalion was believed to be stationed at Kapustin Yar near Volgograd, while the location of the other battalion remained unknown at the time.

In February 2019, the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that, in addition to the known missile and battalion locations, namely the launch pad at Kapustin Yar and Yekaterinburg, two more sites were equipped with these missiles: Mozdok in North Ossetia and Shuya near Moscow. Each of the four battalions was equipped with four-axle Transporter Erector Launchers (TELs), with each TEL carrying four missiles. Consequently, Russia was believed to possess a total of 64 SSC-8 missiles that could be armed with either conventional or nuclear warheads.[13]

In December 2017, the US National Security Council claimed that the 9M729 cruise missile produced by Novator was believed to be in violation of the INF Treaty.[3][4][14] Donald Trump would later abandon compliance with the treaty by the United States in October 2018.[15][16][17][18]

Description

The 9M729 missile may utilize the Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) of the 9K720 Iskander missile system, where the system might be referred to as Iskander-K; K referring to the Russian phrase for cruise missile; крылатая ракета.[19] Other reports suggest that six missiles are carried on the MAZ 543 launcher, which is associated with the R-17 (SS-1 'Scud B').[20]

It is believed that the 9M729 is a land-based variant of the Novator Kalibr cruise missile employed by the Russian Navy.[19]

Russia states a range of less then 500km,[21] armyrecognition claims the missile has a range of 2,350 kilometers, however, when equipped with a conventional warhead weighing 500 kilograms, its range is reduced to 2,000 kilometers.[13] The difference could be rooted in the Russian complaint about the Mk41 launcher in Poland and Romania.[22] The US denies the integration of the cruise missile,[23] Russia denies the range.

References

  1. ↑ "9M729 (SSC-8)". Missile Threat. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  2. ↑ Borger, Julian (2 October 2018). "US Nato envoy's threat to Russia: stop developing missile or we'll 'take it out'". Guardian News & Media Limited.
  3. 1 2 Majumdar, Dave (7 December 2017). "Novator 9M729: The Russian Missile that Broke INF Treaty's Back?". Center for the National Interest.
  4. 1 2 Goncharenko, Roman (5 December 2018). "Russia's controversial 9M729 missile system". Deutsche Welle.
  5. ↑ "China will not join Russia-US disarmament talks". Artsakhpress.am. TASS. 8 November 2019.
  6. ↑ Thomson 1999, p. 131.
  7. ↑ Thomson 1999, p. 127.
  8. 1 2 Gordon, Michael R. (February 14, 2017). "Russia Deploys Missile, Violating Treaty and Challenging Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  9. ↑ "INF TREATY". www.bits.de. December 8, 1987. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  10. ↑ Majumdar, Dave (2017-02-14). "Russia's Dangerous Nuclear Forces are Back". The National Interest. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  11. ↑ Pike, John. "9M729 - SSC-X-8". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  12. ↑ Burns, Robert. "Official: Russia Has Deployed Missile in Violation of Treaty". Military.com. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  13. 1 2 "Russia has more SSC-8 cruise missiles than expected, with conflictual range". Army Recognition. 11 February 2019.
  14. ↑ "The INF Treaty culprit identified. Now what?". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. 5 December 2017.
  15. ↑ Pengelly, Martin (20 October 2018). "Trump says US will withdraw from nuclear arms treaty with Russia". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  16. ↑ Sanger, David E.; Broad, William J. (October 19, 2019). "U.S. to Tell Russia It Is Leaving Landmark I.N.F. Treaty". The New York Times. Retrieved May 21, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ "President Trump to pull US from Russia missile treaty". BBC. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  18. ↑ "Trump: U.S. to exit nuclear treaty, citing Russian violations". Reuters. October 20, 2019.
  19. 1 2 "Russia's Deadly and Mysterious 9M729 Cruise Missile - What Can it Do and Why Does it Worry NATO?". Military Watch Magazine. 8 December 2018.
  20. ↑ "RK-55 (SSC-X-4 'Slingshot' and 3K10 Granat)", Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems, 2008-09-12, archived from the original on 2012-09-03, retrieved 2009-02-04
  21. ↑ https://www.ippnw.de/commonFiles/pdfs/Atomwaffen/a-z_glossarbegriffe.pdf
  22. ↑ https://www.romaniajournal.ro/society-people/us-mk-41-systems-deployment-in-romania-poland-contradicts-inf-treaty-russian-official-says/
  23. ↑ https://news.usni.org/2019/08/21/putin-pledges-russian-response-to-u-s-cruise-missile-test

Bibliography

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