Deadly new Russian weapon hides in shipping container

nandu

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Deadly new Russian weapon hides in shipping container

MOSCOW - A Russian company is marketing a devastating new cruise missile system which can be hidden inside a shipping container, giving any merchant vessel the capability to wipe out an aircraft carrier.

Potential customers for the formidable Club-K system include Kremlin allies Iran and Venezuela, say defense experts. They worry that countries could pass on the satellite-guided missiles, which are very hard to detect, to terrorist groups.

"At a stroke, the Club-K gives a long-range precision strike capability to ordinary vehicles that can be moved to almost any place on earth without attracting attention," said Robert Hewson of Jane's Defense Weekly, who first disclosed its existence.

A promotional video for the Club-K on the website of Moscow-based makers Kontsern-Morinformsistema-Agat shows an imaginary tropical country facing a land, sea and air attack from a hostile neighbor.

It fights back by loading three shipping containers concealing Club-Ks onto a truck, a train and a ship, disperses them, and then launches a devastating strike on its enemy, destroying its warships, tanks and airfields.

"The idea that you can hide a missile system in a box and drive it around without anyone knowing is pretty new," said Hewson, who is editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons.

"Nobody's ever done that before."

Hewson estimated the cost of the Club-K system, which packs four ground or sea-launched cruise missiles into a standard 40-foot shipping container, at $10-20 million.

"Unless sales are very tightly controlled, there is a danger that it could end up in the wrong hands," he said.

The promotional video showed how an ordinary shipping container with the Club-K inside could be hidden among other containers on a train or a ship. When required, the roof lifts off and the four missiles stand upright ready to fire.

An official reached by telephone at makers Kontsern Morinformsistema-Agat declined to answer questions about the Club-K.

He said the firm had no spokesman and he needed time to study written questions before passing a request to the firm's management.

Russia is one of the world's top arms exporters, selling a record $8.5 billion of weapons last year to countries ranging from Syria and Venezuela to Algeria and China. Its order book is estimated to top $40 billion.

Mikhail Barabanov, a defense expert at Russia's Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), said that as far as he understood, the Club-K was still at the concept stage.

"Potential clients include anyone who likes the idea," he said. "It is known that the United Arab Emirates has shown interest in buying the Club."

Barabanov said the Club-K used proven missiles from Novator, an established Russian maker of weaponry including anti-submarine, surface-to-air and submarine-launched missiles.

One of the missiles on offer is a special anti-ship variant with a second stage which splits off after launch and accelerates to supersonic speeds of up to Mach 3.

"It's a carrier-killer," said Hewson of Jane's. "If you are hit by one or two of them, the kinetic impact is vast...it's horrendous."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/26/AR2010042601975.html
 

ahmedsid

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Mindfreakinglyawesome!!!!!

Man this is called creative warfare! The Russians, no one can beat em in this! We should get a couple of this! Hope our neighbours dont! :)
 

ahmedsid

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One more thing, Actually, these can be shot down by Air Defence Systems, which angle was not purused by the Advertisement. I mean, the Ships will have defence mechanisms at work and they will track and shoot it down, unless this is missile has some awesome jamming capability or something. Same goes for the Air fields, which will be protected by a layer of defence systems!
 

Armand2REP

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Clearly this is a weapon meant for terrorist and rouge regimes. Placing weapons on civilian transport is only going to have the opponent start targeting cargo vessels, civilian trains, and tractor trailers. Hide behind commercial shipping so you can attack targets is not to be done in modern warfare by serious militaries. Might be good for countries like DPRK and Iran who don't care about civilian population.

As far as Klub land attack goes, India knows just how good it is... not very.
 

bhramos

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Russian Firm Denies 'Club-K' Missiles Could Be Used By Terrorists

A new cruise-missile system being marketed by a Russian firm is attracting attention as a weapon that, according to its own promotional video, could transform ordinary civilian freight vehicles into long-range missile launchers.

The weapon, known as the Club-K Container Missile System, has been promoted on the Internet and at international arms fairs by the Moscow-based defense firm Concern Morinformsystem-Agat.

The state-controlled firm's marketing campaign describes a concealed and highly mobile satellite-guided missile system that could be hidden inside an ordinary cargo container -- making it indistinguishable from other freight containers on trains, trucks, or cargo ships.

The development of such a missile system has raised fears in the West that Russian missiles might become a weapon for terrorists if they fall into the hands of groups like Al-Qaeda. But the manufacturer is downplaying those concerns as hysterical propaganda.

Robert Hewson, editor of the arms-industry journal "Jane's Air-Launched Weapons," tells RFE/RL that the Club-K would use satellite-guided missiles built by Russia's Novator firm. He also notes that the Club-K system appears to be only in the conceptual stage of development.

"Right now, as far as we can see, all that exists regarding the Club-K system as a containerized weapon is as marketing material. The basic components for this -- the missiles, which is the most important bit -- exist as hardware," Hewson says.

"But what I think you are seeing now is a new concept that the manufacturer has obviously seen a need for and has put out there to show people that they are capable of building this. Now what they need is for someone to come and pay for development and actually buy it."

Hewson says the Russian firm's marketing campaign appears to be aimed at countries like Iran and Venezuela, which have expressed concerns about the presence of U.S. military bases or troops deployed in neighboring countries.

The Club-K project also suggests that Russia's struggling post-Soviet defense firms are trying to adapt to evolving markets by anticipating how a country like Iran might fight a future conflict.

"The system is clearly being positioned towards possible customers who may feel they are under threat from actions from neighboring countries -- a fairly sophisticated customer who can afford the bill, because they will have to pay a significant amount of money to have development completed," Hewson says. "Somebody who feels the need to keep this as a concealed capability -- countries like Iran and Venezuela and also any other nation that has an interest in dominating the sea and land space around it."

Company Defends Campaign

Officials at Concern Morinformsystem-Agat have declined to answer questions directly about the Club-K or its marketing campaign. But the firm issued a press statement on April 28 dismissing reports that the system could be used as a terrorist weapon.

The statement says the Club-K is designed primarily for installation on ships called up for military service in the case of threats by a hostile enemy.

Although an animated promotional video shows Club-K missiles being fired from an ordinary cargo ship, train, and transport truck, a spokeswoman for the firm says in a video statement posted on the firm's website that "professionals understand perfectly well it is impossible to use such [a] system from any container ship or truck."

The spokeswoman also argues that the weapon system could serve as a lower-cost deterrent for smaller countries against would-be aggressors.

She says that the development of the missile system "was based on the fact that not every country can afford such expensive toys as frigates, corvettes, destroyers, and other ships that are equipped with such military weapons. But nobody has the right to deprive these countries of the opportunity to have the power of sovereignty. Moreover, the potential aggressor should keep in mind that he can suffer unacceptable damage."

Concern Morinformsystem-Agat also says Russia has strict weapons-export controls that eliminate the possibility of the unauthorized transfer of Club-K missiles to terrorist organizations or regimes. In that sense, the firm argues, the Club-K system is a weapon for "effective countermeasures against state terrorism."

Concealed Weapon

Many countries have shown interest in Russia's existing Club missiles -- which already can be deployed on land, sea, and air. For example, Club-S missiles are fired from submarines while Club-N missiles are launched from naval surface vessels and Club-A missiles are launched from aircraft.

What makes the Club-K system different is that it's not immediately recognizable as a weapon system. The design features four ground- or sea-launched cruise missiles fitted inside the standard freight containers used across the world to carry commercial cargo.

An animated promotional video that was posted briefly on the YouTube video-sharing site before it was removed shows how Club-K missiles in an ordinary shipping container could be hidden among other cargo containers on trains, cargo ships, or trucks.

The video shows the roof of the cargo container can be slid back and four missiles tilted upright when they are ready to be fired from trucks, trains, or cargo ships -- allowing the missiles to be prepared and launched before their deployment could be detected.

Western Concerns

The Club-K system features two different types of missiles. One is a fairly conventional cruise missile -- a land-attack or antiship missile -- with a range of a few hundred kilometers and a warhead containing several hundred kilograms of conventional explosives.

A second missile type in the Club-K series is a dedicated antiship missile with a two-stage component. After launch, the second stage separates and becomes an extremely high-speed, supersonic missile that hits a target with high kinetic energy.

It is a weapon type that is produced only in Russia and that has raised concerns in Western navies because there aren't many proven defenses against it. And despite today's denial from Club-K's manufacturers, worries remain that a well-funded terrorist organization could obtain the missile system.

Hewson doubts such a purchase -- which would cost an estimated $20 million for four of the missiles and launchers -- could be made directly. He also agrees that Russia's strict "end user" policies would make it difficult for terrorists to obtain Club-K cruise missiles on the international market.

"Russia would only sell it to another state and not to any sort of nonstate actor or terrorist group," Hewson says. "Remember, this probably doesn't exist as a piece of hardware yet. It needs a paying customer to complete it. So that makes it extremely unlikely that anyone is going to roll up with an Al-Qaeda checkbook and buy one of these things."

Still, such arguments may not be enough to quell concerns that a rogue state might obtain the Club-K system and illegally pass the missiles along to terrorist groups

http://www.rferl.org/content/Russia...iles_Could_Be_Used_By_Terrorists/2027728.html
 

bhramos

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originally posted by bengalraider.

Club-K Container Missile System

 
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