© Sputnik / Alexei DruzhininVladimir Putin awards the Order of Courage to the widows of those killed in the explosion in Arkhangelsk Region.
Widows of the scientists killed after a secretive missile engine test went awry in the Arkhangelsk region in August, were invited to the Kremlin on Thursday. Putin handed them their husbands' posthumous Orders of Courage and expressed his condolences.
"They were working on a very difficult, important and critical assignment," Putin said in his eulogy to the late scientists, said to be some of the best specialists in the field.
We're talking about the most advanced and cutting-edge technical ideas and solutions, unequaled anywhere in the world; the weapon that is entitled to ensure sovereignty, security of Russia for decades to come.The possession of such technology by Russia is "the most important, reliable guarantee of peace on the planet. And, no matter what, we'll certainly keep improving this weaponry," the president promised.
A massive blast rocked an offshore platform at a secret military range in northern Arkhangelsk Region on August 8. The accident, which occurred during the testing of an "isotope power source" for the experimental "liquid-propellant [missile] engine," took the lives of seven people. Five of them were employees of Russia's nuclear agency, Rosatom, and two others were from the Defense Ministry.
The blast caused a brief radiation spike in the area, but the readings quickly went back to normal. However, that didn't prevent the Western media from publishing panicking headlines of a new Chernobyl-like nuclear disaster.
US President Donald Trump tweeted that the explosion was related to Russia's hypersonic cruise missile program, 9M730 Burevestnik (NATO codename SSC-X-9 Skyfall), but his speculations were never confirmed by Moscow.
If you've ever read Tom Clancy's books, you learn about things that are not classified, but which the MSM does not report much on. In his 20? Year old book, 'Debt of Honor', Japan re-attacks the USA. Also, the Japanese are using our/their latest high tech & purchased from the US F-15E jets. In it, he describes how the US disables one Japanese Airbase... by using cruise missiles which drop cluster bomblets on the landing runways for the Japanese jets, which proceed to land on the now 'air mined' landing strip, blowing up a few.
We all are aware of HBombs, vs. A bombs. If you are unaware of strategic vs. tactical nukes, you can look them up or take my word: the former are the monster bombs; the latter are the far smaller bombs (e.g., 1950's ‘Davy Crockett’ nukes.)
One problem becomes - if Country X uses a tactical (small) nuke against country Y, would Y be justified in retaliating with a Strategic (BIG) nuke?
Now we’ve heard of Russia’s hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV)
If you think about it, an HGV is simply a momentum-powered, hyper fast 'cruise missile.' So, if one wished to use one of those to maximum effect, what they might well do is launch a rocketed HGV from some optimal point in the vast expanse of Russia so that it could, on the way to its final destination, drop off tactical nukes at our Greenland and Iceland early warning radar stations, and proceed on to some Canadian or US final target.
Given the limited fallout in this accident, I’d have to guess same likely involves the planned use of HGVs to deliver smaller (tactical) nukes.
But what do I know?
R.C.