随着五角大楼推进发展被莫斯科和华盛顿禁止了几十年的武器，俄罗斯已命令其军队观察美国新的导弹部署。
俄罗斯国防部长谢尔盖绍伊古星期五与军方领导人举行了电话会议，他告诉军方领导人，“有必要对潜在的军事威胁进行深入分析，并概述改善武装部队的措施。”绍伊古呼吁他的人员密切关注美国迅速发展的中短程导弹计划。
绍伊古说:“有必要监测美利坚合众国部署的中程和短程导弹。”。
此举正值世界两大军事强国似乎正徘徊在军备竞赛的边缘。唐纳德·特朗普总统已经放弃了关键的历史性军备控制协议，五角大楼正在世界各地加强其进攻和防御系统。
与此同时，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京加快了改造自己武器的努力。
美国空军与战略能力办公室合作，于2019年12月12日在加利福尼亚州范登堡空军基地对一枚常规配置的地面发射弹道导弹原型进行了飞行测试。根据《中程核力量条约》，该导弹将被禁止，但美国于上月撤出。
在周五的会议上，绍伊古指示他的高级官员“逐步重新武装阿旺加尔德和耶尔斯综合体上的战略导弹部队和最新的伯瑞-A级战略潜艇上的海军核力量”
RS-24 Yars是一种洲际弹道导弹，Avangard是一种高超音速滑翔飞行器，据说能够以高达音速20倍的速度穿越全球。两者都是有核能力的武器，也是莫斯科努力实现军事实力现代化的一部分。
这一改进举措还包括诺华9M729巡航导弹的研发，华盛顿方面一直认为这种武器违反了1987年双边中程核力量条约，该条约禁止310至3420英里范围内的地面发射武器。俄罗斯否认有任何违反行为，并指责美国部署反导弹系统违反了他们的协议，莫斯科认为反导弹系统也可能被用来攻击。
经过几个月的警告后，特朗普政府于8月份正式离开了中程核力量，并在此后不久，测试了一枚短程陆基巡航导弹，使用的发射器与部署在东欧北约西方军事联盟阵地的发射器相同。美国上个月进行了第二次短程试验，这次是弹道导弹。
两次，俄罗斯——和中国——受到了严厉的批评。普京已经命令他的军事和国防工业官员也发展这种短程和中程导弹，但是已经宣布自行暂停部署这种武器。
尽管如此，俄罗斯仍在继续开发其他先进的、具有核能力的平台，如RS-28萨马特洲际弹道导弹、核动力波塞冬水下无人驾驶飞机和核动力9M730布雷夫斯特尼克巡航导弹。另一种这样的武器，高超音速空中发射的金扎尔导弹已经部署，给美国造成了潜在的战略缺口
10月17日，作为雷霆2019战略导弹部队演习的一部分，俄罗斯在阿尔汉格尔斯克省米尔尼普列谢茨克发射场测试了一枚RS-24 Yars洲际弹道导弹。俄罗斯和美国拥有世界上大多数核武器，并且都拥有能够从陆地、海洋和空中运载核武器的核三合会。
特朗普周三告诉记者，“正在建造的是许多高超音速导弹”，并吹捧在他的政府领导下，“美国武装部队比以往任何时候都强大”。尽管总统一直专注于确保美国的军事优势，但另一项长期不扩散协议仍悬而未决。
新的《削减战略武器条约》(START)实际上是限制美国和俄罗斯核能力并允许它们检查和监控彼此储存的最终机制。该协议是1991年首次达成的协议的最新体现，将于明年2月到期。特朗普政府没有表示愿意延长任期。
五年延期不需要华盛顿或莫斯科的立法授权，普京已经承诺“无条件地”立即“延长协议”然而，在与俄罗斯外交部长谢尔盖拉夫罗夫会晤后，美国国务卿麦克庞贝表示，美国将仅对新协议感兴趣覆盖更多的国家和新技术。
在军事和政治事务上与莫斯科越来越密切合作的北京拒绝参与任何此类交易，称自己的核武库远比美国和俄罗斯的核武库小，也不那么先进。然而，中国确实拥有强大的导弹射程，包括那些因中程核力量而长期禁止美国和俄罗斯使用的导弹。
RUSSIA ORDERS MILITARY TO WATCH FOR U.S. MISSILE DEPLOYMENTS
Russia has ordered its military to watch for new U.S. missile deployments as the Pentagon pressed forward in developing weapons banned for decades by Moscow and Washington.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held a conference call Friday with military leaders, whom he told that "it is necessary to conduct a deep analysis of potential military threats and outline measures to improve the Armed Forces." Shoigu called on his personnel to keep an eye on the United States' burgeoning short-to-mid-range missile program.
"It is necessary to monitor the deployment of medium-range and shorter-range missiles by the United States of America," Shoigu said.
The move comes as the world's top two military powers appear to be teetering on the brink of an arms race. President Donald Trump has walked away from key, historic arms control deals and the Pentagon is shoring up its offensive and defensive systems around the world.
At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin has accelerated efforts to revamp his own weaponry.
The U.S. Air Force, in partnership with the Strategic Capabilities Office, conducts a flight test of a prototype conventionally-configured ground-launched ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, December 12, 2019. The missile would have been banned under the INF Treaty, but the U.S. withdrew months last.
At Friday's meeting, Shoigu instructed his top brass to "progressively rearm the Strategic Missile Forces on the Avangard and Yars complexes and the naval nuclear forces on the latest strategic submarines of the Borey-A class."
The RS-24 Yars is an intercontinental ballistic missile and the Avangard is a hypersonic glide vehicle said to be capable of traveling across the globe at up to 20 times the speed of sound. Both are nuclear-capable weapons and part of Moscow's efforts to modernize its military prowess.
This improvement drive also included the development of the Novator 9M729 cruise missile, a weapon that Washington has long argued violates the 1987 bilateral Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty that bans land-launched weapons ranging from 310 to 3,420 miles. Russia denies any violation and accuses the U.S. of violating their pact by deploying anti-missile systems that Moscow argues could also be used to attack as well.
After months of warnings, the Trump administration officially left the INF in August and, shortly after, tested a short-range ground-based cruise missile using the same kind of launchers deployed defensively at NATO Western military alliance positions in Easter Europe. The U.S. conducted a second short-range test last month, this time a ballistic missile.
Both times, Russia—and China—reacted with deep criticism. Putin has ordered his military and defense industry officials to develop such short- and medium-range missile as well, but has announced a self-imposed moratorium on deploying such weapons.
Still, Russia continues to develop other advanced, nuclear-capable platforms such as the RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, the nuclear-powered Poseidon underwater drone and the nuclear-powered 9M730 Burevestnik cruise missile. Another such weapon, the hypersonic, air-launched Kinzhal missile has already been deployed, creating a potential strategic gap for the U.S.
Russia tests an RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Mirny, Arkhangelsk province, October 17, as part of the Thunder 2019 Strategic Missile Forces drills. Russia and the U.S. have by most of the world's nuclear weapons and both have nuclear triads capable of delivering them from land, sea and air.
Trump told reporters Wednesday that "under construction are many hypersonic missiles," touting that the "U.S. Armed Forces are stronger than ever before" under his administration. While the president has focused on securing U.S. military dominance, another longstanding non-proliferation agreement hung in the balance.
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) is effectively the final mechanism limiting the U.S. and Russia's nuclear capabilities and allowing them to inspect and monitor one another's stockpiles. The deal, which is the latest incarnation of an agreement first reached in 1991, was set to expire in February of next year. The Trump administration has given no indication it was willing to extend it.
A five-year renewal would require no legislative authority from either Washington or Moscow and Putin has already pledged to "immediately" prolong the agreement "without conditions." Following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, however, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated that the U.S. would be interested in only a new agreement covering more countries and new technologies.
Beijing, which has worked increasingly closely with Moscow on military and political affairs, has rejected any participation in such deals, arguing that its own nuclear arsenal was far small and less sophisticated than that of the U.S. and Russia. China does, however, have a formidable range of missiles, including those long forbidden to the U.S. and Russia as a result of the INF.
