The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, signed by Russia and the United States in 2010, expires next February. As the Trump administration insisted on pulling a third party in, the renewal negotiations between the two countries reached an impasse. At the same time, the two world nuclear giants involved have seized the opportunity to develop nuclear weapons and forge sharper nuclear swords in order to seek a nuclear advantage sufficient to deter the other.
Recently, Konstantin Sivkov, vice president of the Russian Missile and Artillery Academy and a well-known military expert, published a blockbuster article in Russia's "Military Industry Courier", claiming that in the event of the breakdown of the renewal negotiations, Russia can use the research and development of large-yield nuclear weapons to ensure a devastating blow to the United States.
Sivkov's line of thinking is like this: using Russia's latest "Poseidon" nuclear torpedo and "Sarmat" intercontinental missile system, the nuclear bomb with a TNT equivalent of tens of millions of tons is dropped to the "critical crisis area" of the US mainland, causing a huge geographical disaster and thus causing the United States to suffer a catastrophe.
Sivkov pointed out that the number of such super powerful large-yield nuclear bombs does not need to be too large, dozens of them are enough. The "critical crisis zone" is not the political and economic center or military strategic goal that everyone imagines, but refers to geographically fragile areas such as the Yellowstone Volcano and the Pacific Coast Fault.
"Producing 40-50 heavy ICBMs or ultra-long-range nuclear torpedoes could create a huge geographic catastrophe on the U.S. soil that would be enough to destroy the nation."
Sivkov's thinking was most likely influenced by the American film Doomsday Collapse. In this film, the San Andreas Fault, located at the junction of the Pacific Andreas Plate and the North American Plate, collapses, causing a massive earthquake of magnitude 9.6 on the Richter scale in California. The scene of "the collapse of the world" is like the arrival of the "end of the world".
Of course, Sivkov's nuclear strike program is only a theoretical option, and in practice it is almost impossible to do so. If it is really put into practice, it will not only be the end of the United States, but the end of the world, including Russia.
But think of Putin's old line, "If Russia ceases to exist, what use will it be for the world?" ", or let people inhale a cool breath.
In the article, Sivkov pointed out that as a military expert, he threw out the above ideas, the main purpose of which was to convey the following two meanings:
1) The United States is trying to launch a nuclear arms race again in an attempt to drag down Russia. However, Russia does not need to "follow the rules of the law" and follow the United States in the field of nuclear weapons, but must find another way to achieve a nuclear terror balance with the United States through "asymmetric means". With Russia's existing strength, it is fully capable of achieving the above goals.
2. According to the historical experience of the Soviet Union in that year, after Russia possessed the above-mentioned "nuclear killer skills", the West led by the United States would be jealous and forced to abandon sanctions and pressure on Russia, so as to sit at the negotiating table and reach reconciliation with Russia.
At the same time, Sivkov pointed out that the "nuclear bomb tsar" (specifically the tens of millions of tons of large-yield nuclear weapons developed by Russia) is not omnipotent, and the risk of the West launching a "hybrid war" against Russia will still exist, but the "threat of large-scale nuclear war facing the world" can be basically eliminated.
On the issue of nuclear counterattacks against the United States, Sivkov often has surprising remarks that are brain-opening. In November 2019, he publicly claimed that a targeted strike on the Newport News Shipyard in Virginia would cause irreparable damage to the entire U.S. carrier battle group, which is the only U.S. plant capable of building and repairing nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. (Author: Liu Shengren)