Moscow, 28 March: Russia's latest projects in the ballistic weapons field, which allow for manoeuvring in terms of altitude and course, are an "almost revolutionary step", according to a senior source in the Russian Defence Ministry. The source clarified that he was talking of the experiments conducted during the latest large-scale exercises in Russia. "This is a serious step that really does change the philosophy of military-strategic interaction," the source said. According to the expert, "the existence of such a weapons system nullifies any anti-missile defence system".
Russia makes no secret of the fact that it possesses such projects, the source stressed. He explained that "in the modern world, all secrets remain secrets for only a short space of time". "Today even strictly guarded military secrets don't survive for long," he added. the source also declared that Russia is currently working on the development of its own anti-missile defence programme.
Russian specialists "have got further than many other countries in certain areas of ABM development", according to the Defence Ministry. "We are in a position to analyse and reach proper conclusions about what other countries are getting right and what they aren't, and to assess the cost and quality of the work they've carried out." "Given today's nuclear deterrence system and the latest weapons systems, nothing will threaten us for a long historical period of time," the Defence Ministry believes. The latest Russian projects "make it possible to evaluate the quality and cost of the work that's been done and then to select the optimal and most effective ABM systems and, if needs be, introduce them in our own country".
The source described this approach as a "measured policy in the strategic field". This approach, the source stressed, will not require "the enormous resources that some countries are investing without knowing the result". According to the Defence Ministry, "for them it is a very risky investment; we cannot and will not allow ourselves to make such risky investments, without any detriment to the country's defence capability".