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"On Point"
MINSK, 13 February (BelTA) – There are no plans to use nuclear warheads for Oreshnik missile systems because such a big number of warheads in a single missile makes no sense. Head of Russia’s center for studying military and political conflicts Andrei Klintsevich expressed the point of view in a recent episode of BelTA’s YouTube project On Point.
Andrei Klintsevich said: “It is important to understand that Oreshnik missiles are a special strategic medium-range weapon with the [hit range] of up to 5,000km. It was done in order not to cross the threshold of a nuclear war.”
Speaking about the power of Oreshnik missiles, the expert noted that the warhead in the form of a blank that accelerates to hypersonic speed causes extremely severe devastation when it hits the ground. The devastation is comparable to low-yield tactical nuclear strikes.
“Why Oreshnik [hazel nut]? Because we are talking about a large number of warheads. Most likely without the shroud it looks like clusters of hazel nuts. I suppose that’s how the name came about,” added Andrei Klintsevich.
In his words, it makes no sense to place such a large number of nuclear warheads in a medium-range missile and the main munitions are the blanks, the speed of which exceeds the speed of sound. “As I understand it, it [Oreshnik] is not intended for nuclear warheads at all because it makes no sense. You can launch either a cruise missile or a hypersonic missile such as Tsirkon or Kinzhal with a single nuclear warhead. You don’t need 30 warheads for that. Even strategic intercontinental missiles do not have that many warheads,” the expert stated.
Thus, Andrei Klintsevich concluded, the Oreshnik missiles can cause very serious damage in situations where interception by medium-range missiles is impossible.
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