Aircraft carriers have dominated the seas for nearly 90 years. With them, death and destruction have been carried to distant shores. Now, Russia has unveiled a new missile technology that will turn these assault war machines into worthless scrap metal.
A few weeks ago, Russia showed off its latest development in missile technology. It was used in a retaliatory strike. In response to Ukraine’s attacks deep into Russian territory, carried out with American missiles and with US assistance. The retaliatory strike hit the Ukrainian military plant Yuzhmash. Russia called the weapon Oreshnik, which means hazelnut in German. Oreshnik is not just a simple further development of known technology. It is a leap into a completely new technology that can only be compared to the transition from piston engines to jet engines. Oreshnik will hit its target at speeds in excess of Mach 10, ten times the speed of sound. There is no technology that can intercept this weapon.
The Oreshnik fired at Yuzhmash was not even loaded with explosives. Their maximum of 36 individually controllable explosive charges were replaced by dummies that caused devastating damage only with their kinetic force. Even without explosive charges, these dummies passed through several concrete ceilings to a depth of about twenty meters. One can imagine what this weapon does with real warheads. For comparison: A sniper rifle bullet reaches a maximum of about two and a half times the speed of sound and weighs only a few grams, the Oreshnik carries more than 100 kilograms to the target and has a range of at least 5,000 kilometers. . There is no comparable weapon.
The problem is the heat generated by air friction
Anyone who has spent any time in space knows the problems that arise during re-entry. Frictional heat at these high speeds is difficult to control. All vehicles have a more or less complex heat shield for re-entry, which also failed on the Space Shuttle. For these vehicles we are “only” talking about speeds of around Mach three to five, and that is also true for conventional ICBMs. The Oreshnik comes in at Mach 10 or even more. The heat development is enormous. Russia has developed completely new materials that can withstand this. The West does not have this. This is also a factor in why the West, the US, has repeatedly failed to develop hypersonic missiles.
Another advantage of the Oreshnik is that it is about the same size as a “normal” medium-range missile and is probably even smaller. This means that it is relatively cheap to produce, even in large quantities, and can be launched from mobile launch pads. A preemptive strike is difficult. If several walnuts are fired at a target in a bundle, the effect is comparable to a nuclear strike. But only superficially. Atomic bombs are detonated at a height of about 100 to 300 meters above the ground, and their effect barely reaches below the surface of the earth. On the other hand, the multiple warheads of the Oreshnik penetrate deep into the ground and destroy bunkers several floors deep. Now imagine that there are ten Oreshniks, each with 36 warheads, all individually programmed for their own target. There is nothing left. So much for the destructive power of the Oreshnik when used against ground targets. NATO has no way to repel these strikes.
Oreshnik Sinks an Entire Carrier Formation
Now let’s consider using Oreshnik on sea targets. For example, on a group of carriers. The individual homing warheads separate from the carrier system at altitudes of 20 kilometers or more and then head towards their targets. This means that with a single Oreshnik and its 36 warheads, every single ship in the carrier formation will be hit by at least one warhead. Now we know what a torpedo can do. But that’s nothing compared to the Oreshnik warhead. Due to its almost vertical angle of impact and its enormous speed, it will penetrate all the armor from above and then explode inside the ship. The hit ship will begin its journey to the seabed in a matter of seconds. Even the aircraft carrier itself.
An aircraft carrier costs billions and can carry up to 50 fighters and 5,000 crew members. This means that billions of materials and thousands of soldiers can be lost with a weapon that costs a fraction of the cost. Hits are guaranteed. And at a distance of up to 5,000 kilometers. This means that American aircraft carriers are not even safe when they are in ports on the US West Coast. Or they have positioned themselves in front of China, North Korea or eastern Siberia. They will also no longer be able to fight their way across the Atlantic to Europe without being sunk halfway. This means that the strength of the US naval forces has been broken, even crushed. The aircraft carriers and their support boats are nothing more than worthless scrap. By the way: The advance warning time for an Oreshnik attack is less than ten minutes, even if it comes from a distance of 5,000 kilometers. For Berlin or London, it would be less than three minutes before all, in fact all, ministries would be hit by a single Oreshnik.
Oreshnik changes everything
Oreshnik is not just a new weapons system. It fundamentally changes military power structures without the use of nuclear weapons. The US can no longer conduct overseas military actions unless Russia allows it. It also happens that a formation of aircraft carriers cannot be destroyed as completely by a nuclear bomb as by a single walnut. A conventional ballistic nuclear missile can also be intercepted. Not a walnut. At this point I would like to point out how decent Russia is with this new weapon. If the USA had its atomic bomb, it would have been decent to invite Japanese politicians and military leaders to the USA to show them the power of this weapon. The Japanese surrender would have happened. But no, two cities had to be destroyed and hundreds of thousands of civilians killed.
Invitation to a duel
After the West, NATO and the US expressed doubts about the capabilities of Oreshnik, Russia took an unusual step. Putin himself asked the US, NATO, to name the object that Oreshnik is supposed to attack. An object in Kiev. NATO should then deploy all available defense systems there and try to intercept this devilish miracle. Moscow is calling for a limited military duel, so to speak. This is downright “chivalrous”. The goal is to show what it is better not to get involved in. That it is wiser to “hide” this time and refrain from further provocations and escalation. It is also known in NATO circles that Russian interception systems are significantly better than NATO systems and that Oreshnik cannot be intercepted with them either.
In 2025, we will find ourselves in a completely new world order. Donald Trump will have to include Oreshnik in his plans. But Trump does not want to wage war anyway. With Oreshnik, he now has an argument against the hawks in his army. Until now, Russia has been “only” a nuclear power. But now Russia has all the (military) trump cards. NATO has deposited most of its weapons reserves in Ukraine. And now Oreshnik is on top. Only completely crazy people can be as cocky about Russia as they were before. Think about it, Mr. M. or whoever wants to be the next Chancellor. With Oreshnik, the world could have entered a phase of peace, however long it lasted. If we could then purge our governments of psychopaths, everything could be fine. And yes, I have always liked hazelnut bushes.
More technical details about Oreshnik and why he cannot be captured can be found here.
Author: Peter Haisenko
Image: Pixabay.com
