Now let us have a look at multiple warheads, their range and accuracy.

A host of information sources, from Encyclopaedia Britannica to such specialized magazines as Military Technology and Aviation Week, tell us that initially the Topol was fitted out with a single nuclear warhead with a TNT equivalent of 550 kilotons. Circular error probable was about 200 meters, or over 600 yards.

At the same time, America's main intercontinental ballistic missile Minuteman-3, which entered service in 1970, was equipped with three Mk-12A individually targetable re-entry vehicles each with a TNT equivalent of 335 kilotons.

Its CEP did not exceed 220 meters, or 670 yards, and, following modernization, is estimated at 120 meters, or just over 360 yards. The Minuteman has a range of up to 8,880 miles, or 14,800 kilometers.

Compared with that the Topol's all-up weight is 12 tons more than the corresponding figure for the American missile, which, naturally, affects its range.

As time went by, the single-warhead Topol-M, according, for example, to the Russian Military Parity Internet publication, "caught up" in many respects. Its sustainers now have better thrust characteristics and CEP is reduced.

The upshot, however, is that the modernized Topol does no more than come near the American missile of 40 years ago, inferior in range and warhead yield.

But any modernization has its limits. Multiple warheads differ in principle from a single warhead, both in equipment and weight. The first requirement is a bus with an independent control system, whose electronics must be protected against the effects of a nuclear explosion, and have special facilities to detect and counter noise.

Another requirement is a propulsion unit with a fuel supply to alter speed and attitude before the separation of each warhead. Besides, all warheads are provided with several attitude engines. The necessary increase in weight can be achieved only by reducing the yields or reducing the range.

The last factor is critical for the Topol-M. According to the Military Parity, the mobile system has a range not exceeding 5,760 miles, or 9,600 kilometers.

This raises a question, or rather two questions. Does asymmetry devalue the concept of ground strategic nuclear forces, which have for a long time and through difficult years guaranteed the country's security? Would it not be wiser to develop an adequate and symmetric answer by deploying Russia's own anti-missile point defense alongside an intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with standard penetration aids based on individually targetable re-entry vehicles?

But this is another story and another missile.

(Andrei Kislyakov is a political commentator for RIA Novosti. This article is reprinted by permission of RIA Novosti. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.)

(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)

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