On December 8, 1987, the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Intermediate-Range Missile Treaty in Washington, stating that the two countries no longer maintain, produce or test land-based cruise missiles and cruise missiles with a range of 500 kilometers to 5,500 kilometers. Ballistic missiles. Until 2018, the United States accused Russia of repeatedly violating treaty provisions and stopped fulfilling its obligations related to the treaty at the beginning of 2019. The two countries destroyed nearly 3,000 missiles in total.
As an arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty has made a very significant contribution to stabilizing world peace. When the United States proposed to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, it coincided with the close exchanges between the United States and Russia in Syria and other Middle Eastern countries. The United States originally intended to take advantage of its withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range-Range Treaty and vigorously develop medium-range missiles. Unexpectedly, it was taken first by Russia.
Russia not only developed a new missile before the United States, but this missile will also pose a threat to the aircraft carrier fleet that the United States has always relied on. This missile is the "Zircon" hypersonic cruise missile. The biggest feature of the
missile is its high speed, reaching Mach 6-8, which makes it an unparalleled advantage in penetration. As a result, some US military experts have admitted the decline in missiles, saying that there is currently no technology that can intercept such missiles 100%. Therefore, even the Pentagon, because of the advent of this type of missile, changed the next plan of the US Navy and directly slashed the number of aircraft carriers. In addition to its own power, the
missile has a variety of launch methods. In addition to the more conventional underwater, shipborne and air launches, it can also be launched using trains or ground launchers. It is difficult for the enemy to predict the specific location of the missile launch. In addition, in the combat radius, the "Zircon" missile claims to have a range of 1,000 kilometers. You know, the F-18 "Hornet" fighter aircraft on board the US aircraft carrier has a combat radius of only 700 kilometers. This means that Russia will be able to launch missiles from safe locations far beyond the range of the aircraft carrier. And its "strong penetration" feature will also cause precision strikes on American aircraft carriers with a very high success rate. If the hit position is “spicy” enough, it is more likely to cause a one-shot kill to the aircraft carrier.
And if the "Zircon" missile is launched from the Russian Far East, it can hit the United States in just 5 minutes. Once the deployment is completed, it will pose a great security threat to the domestic security of the United States.
In short, the deployment of Russia's "zircon" missiles crippled the United States, which was the first to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range-Range Treaty. However, the Pentagon now regrets that it is too late to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
