Tel Aviv: The US will deploy more air defence systems in Europe to counter the evolving threat posed by the Russian Orshenik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM). According to western sources, the missile will be fully deployed soon.
In addition to air defence systems, the US will implement plans announced in 2024 for deployments of the new Hypersonic Dark Eagle starting in 2026 as part of the Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) in Germany. The Dark Eagle, has a range of over 2,775 km.
Based on the RS-26 “Rubezh” ICBM programme, Oreshnik is an experimental Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that the Pentagon describes as having nuclear capability. It is said to be capable of carrying conventional or nuclear payloads and to have a range that would allow it to hit any target in Europe.
With assessments of six warheads that each dispense numerous submunitions, the missile appears to employ a multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) or MIRV-like payload, giving it a complicated multi-object footprint during the terminal phase.
Oreshnik’s payload reaches terminal speeds of around Mach 10–11 with a high, lofted trajectory that maximises re-entry velocity, according to Western sources. Such hypersonic moving warheads and submunitions hamper tracking and discrimination for systems like Patriot or Aegis, and they shorten warning and engagement times.
The MIRVed, moving hypersonic re-entry vehicles are specifically designed to dodge or saturate existing missile defences by presenting numerous fast, difficult-to-track objects approaching nearly simultaneously, according to analysts.
The performance of US and allied systems, including Patriot PAC-3, THAAD, Aegis BMD (SM-3/SM-6), and the US GMD architecture, is always dependent on geometry, the quantity and complexity of incoming warheads and decoys, sensor coverage, and the number of interceptors.
Because of Oreshnik’s speed, MIRV payload, and submunitions, more interceptors may be required for each incoming missile, straining shot systems and magazines and raising the possibility that some warheads will seep through.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
