From Sarmat to Oreshnik, the expression "without analogs" has become an integral part of Russia's military rhetoric. What is behind this formula, which missiles are truly unique, and where is it more about marketing? "The First Technical" investigated.
Vladimir Putin on the prospects of Russian models:
Our promising weapons have no analogs in the world... And, I think, they will not [have] for a long time.
This widely cited statement was later used as a "benchmark" for many announcements.
ICBM Sarmat - Putin after the tests
During a video conference on the results of the Sarmat launch, Putin congratulated the participants of the tests.
It has no analogs in the world, and will not have for a long time.
"Sarmat" is indeed unique in terms of mass and declared range (up to 18,000 km). However, the American LGM-30G Minuteman III and the Chinese DF-41 have similar characteristics - that is, there are no complete analogs, but the class of weapon is the same.
"Avangard" - a statement about a fundamentally new system
One of the key examples is the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle. In public speeches and interviews, Vladimir Putin emphasized that the missile currently has no analogs in the world.
They will probably appear in a few years, but no one has them yet.
At that time, in 2019, this was indeed the case: the United States and China did not have serial hypersonic glide vehicles. Today, the United States is testing the C-HGB system, and Beijing is promoting the DF-ZF with similar characteristics.
"Tsirkon" - assessment of military experts
The Tsirkon hypersonic anti-ship missile in Russian publications was commented on not only by officials, but also by military experts, for example, retired Rear Admiral Vladimir Dudko.
"Tsirkon" is in the testing phase. There is no analogue yet among any of the potential adversaries.
"Tsirkon" became the first actually tested hypersonic anti-ship complex, but similar programs have been launched for state tests - the American HAWC and the Chinese YJ-21. That is, in terms of speed (≈9 M), Russia is ahead, but the gap is narrowing.
"Oreshnik" - are there really no analogs?
Putin also noted that the newest Oreshnik hypersonic missile system has no analogs in the world.
There are, of course, no analogs to Oreshnik in the world, and I think similar analogs will not appear soon.
Little is known about Oreshnik - the project is classified. According to open data, it is a new hypersonic strike system with a range of up to 5500 km. We can only state that intercontinental missiles are definitely not only available in Russia.
Instead of an afterword
The assertion that a certain weapon "has no analogs" is a stable element of defense rhetoric. The examples of Burevestnik, Sarmat, and Oreshnik show how this wording is used to create the image of a technological breakthrough.
Earlier www1.ru reported that a Russian tank was equipped with incredibly dense anti-drone protection.
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