The era of aircraft carriers ends with the Oreschnik missile
Aircraft carriers have ruled the seas for almost 90 years. They have carried death and destruction to distant shores. Now Russia has unveiled a new missile technology that turns these attack war machines into worthless scrap metal. A few weeks ago, Russia demonstrated its latest development in missile technology. It was used for a retaliatory strike. In response to attacks by Ukraine deep into Russian territory, which were carried out with American missiles and US assistance. The retaliatory strike hit the plant of the Ukrainian military enterprise Yuzhmash. Russia has named this weapon Oreshnik, which means “(hazel) nut tree” in German. Oreshnik is not just a simple further development of known technology. It is a leap into a completely new technology that can only be compared to the change from piston engines to jet engines. The Oreschnik hits its target at a speed of more than Mach 10, i.e. ten times the speed of sound. There is no technology that could intercept this weapon.
The Oreshnik fired at Yuzhmash was not even loaded with explosives. Its maximum of 36 individually controllable explosive charges were replaced by dummies, which caused devastating damage through their kinetic force alone. Even without explosive charges, these dummies went through several concrete ceilings to a depth of around twenty meters. You can imagine what this weapon does with real warheads. For comparison: the bullet of a sniper rifle reaches a maximum of about two and a half times the speed of sound and weighs only a few grams. The Oreschnik can deliver more than 100 kilograms to the target and has a range of at least 5,000 kilometers. There is no comparable weapon.
The heat generated by air friction is the problem
Anyone who has spent a little time studying space travel knows what problems arise during re-entry into the atmosphere. The frictional heat at these high speeds is difficult to control. This is why all re-entry vehicles have a more or less complex heat shield, which has already failed on the space shuttle. With these vehicles, however, we are “only” talking about speeds of around Mach three to five, and this also applies to conventional intercontinental missiles. The Oreshnik reaches Mach 10 or even more. The heat generated is enormous. Russia has developed completely new materials that can cope with this. The West doesn't have that. Incidentally, this is also a factor why the West, the USA, has repeatedly failed to develop hypersonic missiles up to now.
Another advantage of the Oreschnik is that it is roughly the size of a “normal” medium-range missile, probably even smaller. This means that it is relatively inexpensive to produce, even in large quantities, and can be launched from mobile launch pads. A pre-emptive strike is difficult to achieve. If a few Oreschniks are fired at a target in a bundle, the effect is comparable to a nuclear strike. But only superficially. Nuclear bombs are detonated at a height of around 100 to 300 meters above the ground and their effect barely reaches below the earth's surface. The multiple warheads of the Oreschnik, on the other hand, penetrate deep into the ground and destroy bunker systems several storeys deep. And now imagine ten Oreschniks, each with 36 warheads, all individually programmed for their own target. There would be nothing left. So much for the destructive power of the Oreshnik when used on land targets. NATO has no way of fending off these strikes.
An Oreschnik sinks an entire aircraft carrier convoy
Let us now consider the use of Oreschnik on sea targets, for example on an aircraft carrier group. The individual self-guided warheads are separated from the carrier system at altitudes of 20 or more kilometers and then head for their targets. This means that with just a single Oreschnik and its 36 warheads, every single ship in an aircraft carrier group is hit by at least one warhead. Now we know what a torpedo can do. But that's nothing compared to an Oreschnik warhead. Due to its almost vertical impact angle and its enormous speed, it will penetrate all armor from above and then explode inside the ship. The hit ship will start its journey to the bottom of the sea in a few seconds. As will the aircraft carrier itself.
An aircraft carrier costs billions, houses up to 50 fighter planes and 5,000 crew. This means that billions in material and thousands of soldiers can be sunk with a weapon that costs only a fraction of that. The hits are guaranteed. And at a distance of up to 5,000 kilometers. This means that American aircraft carriers are not even safe when they are in port on the US west coast. Or when they are positioned off China, North Korea or Eastern Siberia. They will also no longer be able to make their way through the Atlantic towards Europe without being sunk halfway. This means that the power of the US naval forces is broken, even pulverized. Aircraft carriers and their support vessels are now nothing but worthless scrap metal. Incidentally, the warning time for an Oreshnik attack is less than ten minutes, even for an attack from a distance of 5,000 kilometers. For Berlin or London, it would be just under three minutes before all - yes, all - ministries were hit with a single Oreschnik.
The Oreschnik changes everything
Oreshnik is not simply a new weapon system. It fundamentally changes the military power structures without the use of nuclear weapons. The USA can no longer conduct military operations overseas if Russia does not allow it. It is also the case that an aircraft carrier group cannot be destroyed as completely with a nuclear bomb as with just one oreshnik. A conventional nuclear ballistic missile can also be intercepted. The Oreshnik cannot. At this point I would like to point out how decently Russia is behaving with this new weapon. When the USA had its atomic bomb, it would have been decent to invite Japanese politicians and military leaders to the USA to show them the power of this weapon. Japan would have surrendered. But no, even two cities had to be destroyed and hundreds of thousands of civilians killed.
Invitation to a duel
After the West, NATO and the USA have expressed doubts about the capabilities of the Oreshnik, Russia has taken an unusual step. Putin himself has asked the USA, NATO, to name an object to be attacked by an Oreshnik. An object in Kiev. NATO should then deploy all available defense systems there and try to intercept this diabolical marvel. Moscow is calling for a limited military duel, so to speak. That is downright “chivalrous”. It is intended to demonstrate what it is better not to get involved in; that it is wiser to “tuck tail” this time and refrain from further provocations and escalations. Moreover, it is known in NATO circles that the Russian interception systems are considerably better than those of NATO and even with these, an Oreshnik cannot be intercepted.
We will find ourselves in a completely new world order in 2025. Donald Trump will also have to factor Oreshnik into his plans. But Trump doesn't want to wage wars anyway. With the Oreshnik, he now has an argument in his hand against the hawks in his military. Until now, Russia was “only” a nuclear power. But now Russia has all the (military) trump cards in its hand. NATO has sunk the majority of its weapons reserves in Ukraine. And now the Oreshnik on top of that. Only the completely insane can continue to be as cocky towards Russia as they have been so far. Think about it, Mr. M. (or whoever wants to be the next chancellor)! With Oreshnik, the world could enter a phase of peace, however long it lasts. If we then managed to cleanse our governments of psychopaths, all could be well. And yes: I've always liked hazelnut bushes.
- Peter Haisenko
