Donald Trump said this Friday, August 1 that he had asked for the “repositioning of two nuclear submarines” in reaction to the “incendiary” comments of former Russian president Dmitri Medvedev, who, however, no longer occupies official functions.
This is the first time that the US president mentions the nuclear arsenal on the Ukrainian issue when he gave Vladimir Putin an ultimatum to begin peace negotiations.
In detail, Donald Trump wrote in his real social network to have “ordered that two nuclear submarines position themselves in the appropriate areas, in case these silly and incendiary statements are more serious than this.”
Two types of submarines
The Republican president has not given precision in terms of the submarines in question. Actually, there are two types of nuclear submarines.
These attack submarines can draw in particular the Tomhawk missiles, without the nuclear head, whose maximum scope is considered to reach 2,500 kilometers (approximately the distance between Paris and Moscow).
During the night of June 21 to 22, “half a dozen” of these missiles were extracted from a submarine to Iranian nuclear facilities.
Very important litters
“This can also be a nuclear submarine launcher (SNLE), whose nuclear missiles,” continues Emmanuelle Galichet.
The United States has 14 submarines of this type (France has 4). They also work with reactors, but take nuclear missiles. These buildings are dedicated to deterrence. His mission is to hide in the oceans and be ready to do an atomic shot.
These Snle draw the Trident II D5 missile, considered as “the Lanza Head of the Strategic Arsenal of the United States, since 970 of the 1,770 nuclear heads are currently needed by the country,” according to a note by Etienne Marcuz of the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), a French research center.
According to the FRS, the maximum range of this missile is estimated at around 11,000 kilometers and is tried for the last time in June 2023 in the Atlantic (10,600 km). “
To have an idea, New York is 7,500 kilometers from Moscow. Therefore, a Trident II D5 missile can cover a distance almost twice.
“There is no clear message”
Therefore, Donald Trump’s announcement about “gathering” these submarines is difficult to interpret. The latter do not need to be repositioned to threaten Russia.
“This does not mean much and the Russians know very well,” said Romain Honeycarek, a journalist specialized in defense questions for BFMTV, who believes “Donald Trump does not give a clear message.”
This feverish impulse arrives at a time when Washington hardens the tone towards Moscow in the war in Ukraine. Despite his threats and the ultimatum he gave Vladimir Putin, Moscow responds by intensifying his attacks.
The Russian armed forces have never launched as many drones against Ukraine as in July (6,297). Between January and June, Russia has tripled the number of missiles sent to Ukraine (77 against 239, then 198 in July), according to data analyzed by AFP of the figures provided by Kyiv.
Source: BFM TV
