New Russian Missile System a Tool for Terrorists?
Last month, weapons buyers and sellers gathered at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for what was promoted as “the biggest, most attended and most successful” weapons fair in the past twenty years.
One item garnered more attention that others. Among the assault rifles, armored vehicles, and fighter jets was a portable cruise missile system engineered to launch from a generic-looking shipping container.
This is “not good news,” a former intelligence officer told me.
Unlike traditional missile systems, the Club-K container missile system is not immediately recognizable as a weapons system. With camouflage as its primary feature, the Club-K seems to be a dangerous fit for rogue nations and terrorist groups.
A Russian defense contractor called Concern Morinformsystem-Agat developed the missile system. There is a marketing video on the company’s website which shows how the missiles can be launched, via satellite command, from where they are hidden inside what appears to be a shipping container. The roof of the container slides back, a missile launcher moves into the upright position, and one by one, all four missiles deploy.
In one scenario, the Club-K container is shown innocuously concealed among a group of legitimate containers bearing the logo of South Korean mega-shipper Hanjin. Club-K containers can be offloaded from unsuspecting cargo ships and transferred onto railroad cars or onto the flatbed of a truck.
Shortly after its unveiling in Malaysia, Club-K’s Russian weapons maker was accused of developing a system tailored for rogue nations. In its defense, the company issued a press release saying “not all the countries are able to afford such expensive ‘toys’ for their fleet as corvettes, frigates, destroyers, cruisers and other vigorous ships equipped with missile weapon.” And then, as if playing into the hands of critics, Concern Morinformsystem-Agat declared: “Nobody has the right to deprive [others] of the opportunity to have its power of sovereignty. Moreover the potential aggressor should keep in mind that he can suffer unacceptable damage.”
Adding a strange, Stanley Kubrick feel to the debate, the company website offers a video version of its press release … read by a pretty Russian model in a bright orange sweater in front of a white wall. Look closely: there’s a logo of Lenin and a hammer and sickle in the background.
There are other dangers to this portable missile system besides it falling into terrorists’ hands. The Telegraph reports that both Iran and Venezuela “have already shown an interest in the Club-K container missile system which could allow them to carry out preemptive strikes from behind an enemy’s missile defenses.”
Debkafile.com observes: “In Iranian hands it would make the targeting of its nuclear facilities very difficult. Able to wipe out an aircraft carrier up to 400 kilometers away, … Western military experts are calling it a ‘real maritime fear for anyone with a waterfront.’”
During the Cold War, the U.S. regularly moved missiles around the country on trucks, and around the globe inside bombers with the Strategic Air Command. The Soviet Union took similar defensive measures by moving their own ICBMs around on railroad cars. The logic behind portable missile systems is that a moving target is a lot harder to hit than a known, stationary one.
But the Cold War is supposedly over and this portable missile system now being marketed in Moscow presents an entirely new set of 21st century problems.
Most troubling is the fact that an advanced missile system such as this one could not be up for sale without the approval of the Kremlin, just as U.S. defense contractors like Raytheon and Lockheed can’t market weapons systems without approval from the Pentagon. In allowing the Club-K container missile system to be sold to anyone willing to pay the price (approximately $20 million in U.S. dollars), Moscow is opening up a new arms race in the Middle East.
Says Reuben Johnson, a consultant for the Pentagon: “This is ballistic missile proliferation on a scale we have not seen before, because now you cannot readily identify what’s being used as a launcher because it’s very carefully disguised.”
Incredibly overrated, like most new Russian military hardware is. Don’t buy into the hype.
When the ‘merchant ship’ carrying these oh-so-sneaky disguised missiles lights up its tracking radar and locks up an aircraft carrier, what do you think is going to happen?
There’s no discreet way to target or launch an anti-shipping missile.
Correct. The primary threat this system poses is to commercial shipping, mainly at choke points such as the Straits of Hormuz. It would be a handy gadget for pirates, as well, being a more credible threat than RPGs. (I’m thinking about the Java Sea area, not the Horn of Africa, in this context.)
There is also a potential threat to ports and other coastal areas in Western countries. A freighter carrying a few of these as deck cargo could salvo anything from HE to CBW agents into a coastal target from up to 200 miles offshore with little chance of detection before launch. Granted, the lifespan of the freighter would be measured in hours afterward, but the most likely perpetrators don’t consider that a “bug”- to them, it’s a “feature”.
And like commercial transports, seacoast cities, etc., don’t generally have military-grade radar defenses, if indeed they have any at all.
This isn’t a system a serious blue-water navy would need, or be too concerned about as a credible threat. By comparison, it’s the sort of thing every terrorist group on Earth has been dreaming of for a long time. Even if its description reads like something out of a James Bond movie.
Sometimes, weapon systems can actually be effective in the field because their underlying concept is so far-fetched that nobody will believe that anyone would be crazy enough to try it in the real world. This could be a case in point.
clear ether
eon
This isn’t a system a serious blue-water navy need be too concerned about.
Unless the Damn Fool CINC-POTUS orders said fleet into brown water,
say the Strait of Malacca, and it gets swarmed by a simultaneous
multiple axis attack.
The British at the Falklands were on a war footing, expecting missile attacks. Yet a number of missiles got through.
True, but those missiles were carried by jet fighter-bombers. The Argentinian Navy never got within shooting range of the Royal Navy with surface assets, and their one attempt to do so lost them a cruiser to an old-fashioned torpedo attack (with heavy-weight free-runners, at that).
Terrorists don’t have access to air power- yet. The nation states that do are more likely to use Exocets, etc. fired off their aircraft than a relatively low-end system like this. However, terrorists do have trucks, and this system seems well-suited to be launched from one down close to the beach at a choke point.
The point about the Malacca Strait was very well taken. It occurs to me that this system on a fishing trawler’s deck could be a nasty bushwhacker for naval units- if the crew is sufficiently interested in dying for whatever their cause is about twenty seconds after they launch.
cheers
eon
depends whether or not the aggressor is suicidal or not. I can see scenarios where this would be an effective weapon
But oh, what a spectacular way to get an aerosol plague or chemical attack into someplace like New York, LA, Miami, DC, Boston or any other big city that happens to be near a seaport. You wouldn’t even have to cause that much damage and death – just enough to bring abject terror to all the cowards that dominate our political and media classes living in the coastal cities.
With a multi-prong simultaneous hit on 3 to 5 cities that killed as many as 1,000 or so, I’d bet someone as gutless as Obama would sue for peace even to Hamas or Chechnya.
A few points.
1. like close to 100% of all russian “businesses”, this one is a part of the Russian Business Network aka the Red Mafia aka the primary non-islamic enemies of civilisation.
2. this weapon system is definitely substandard. The same as box cutters are substandard. It’s morale and preparedness to use it that makes it extremely dangerous. And do you seriously think islamic controlled ports- like 75% of America’s- are going to be tough enough to stop transfer of the weapon system to the American mainland?
3. this is without question a primarily anti-American weapon and should be treated as such. Fat chance with the current regime.
It’s clear from their marketing video, that this system is meant to be a deterrent against the US. All of the Blue County’s weapon systems in the video are US, M1 tanks, Strykers, F18 Hornets, ect… All getting demolished by the Club-K. Whether or not the missle can deliver is a different question. But it is definitely marketed to those who see America as an opponent.
Epic fail.
Please re-read the part on how it sets up to launch.
A few questions…
How will it launch when other containers are stacked on it?
How will anyone guarantee that this container will be on top?
How do you stop a corrupt inspector or thief from opening this container?
In the US trucks are subject to inspection and weight verification (elsewhere too),how can you hide this system from that?
Containers are not randomly marked,and are traced by their markings,when the computers and container markings do not match the
container will be opened at the sea port,how can you prevent that?
Containers are owned by shipping lines and companies who lease them to ship lines, all keep an inventory of them,and when computer
lists do not match inventory some one will inspect it. How can you prevent that.
In the US, containers are pre-loaded onto the wheel system own by ship lines or rail roads who track that equipment and are not often loaded onto private equipment. How do you deal with that ?
The container/missile systems will all weight about the same and leaves them easy to track in port by weight.
Very poor research,if you had done such, you would learn things like…
Ship lines track their containers,its how they get paid for delivery.
Odd-ball containers stick out in the system.
If you think starting a ship line to avoid problems in moving the containers, that won’t work either.
This is a gimmick or trick, is use is limited.
Many questions, one answer; Smuggling works, already.
Even the unlikely scenario of smuggling into the US
could be accomplished using existing routes.
see the movie ‘Eraser’ for details.
First,movies are hollywood dreams.
Won’t work.
I’ve been in the business ten years,I know it won’t work.
Here’s what I see:The driver you hire pulls out of the seaport,and the DOT cops pull him over for inspection,open up the back
doors and “Game over”.
All states are broke,and one way to really make money is ticketing trucks.
If you don’t know the industry,your guess has a high probability of being wrong.
Nations like Venezuela and Iran have state-owned shipping lines, it is not hard for said nations to make certain the container with the missiles is on top.
Mark, yes in the Falklands war some missiles did get through. However missile defenses have improved considerably since then. To guarantee a hit however, you would need to saturate the Carrier Battle Group’s point defense. I’m not certain what a CBG’s tracking capacity or engagement capacity is, but it’s formidable.
That being said, no, this weapon is not targeted at our navy. The point is well taken, they might get a missile through the PD but the ship that launched the attack wouldn’t survive the launch by more than a few minutes.
The real utility of this weapon is as a commerce raider, and for that it’s all but ideal.
In any event, this is a shot across the bow by the Kremlin. Time for the yo-yos who think the Russians are no threat to wake up. Putin is trying to re-establish the Soviet sphere of influence. Right now, he’s succeeding.
Steve,
A nuclear warhead on a scud missle(think Iran) launched from a container ship, and “One Second After”, it’s “Lights Out”
http://www.onesecondafter.com/
http://www.empcommission.org/index.php
We are talking about THIS system.
It MUST have 9 feet to open,which means it MUST be at the rear AND on top.
If you don’t control who loads the ship and owns it, how can you guarantee that it can be at
the top and rear (or any possible) position to launch?
Take a closer look at container ships and how the containers are stacked on board.
Containers are offloaded into storage and then onto trailers. Once on the trailer or rail car, there is nothing sitting on top of it. It can be dropped shipped anywhere in the US. The only line of defense is US Customs.
On a truck,no other container on top,but the odds of it being in a well car are high…and even if it was loaded on
the top position,still wouldn’t work because of side-to-side instability.
I’m just pointing out the weakness (which might buy time to prevent launch) in the system.
Besides,it is not just customs that can stop the truck.
Port safety and security teams.
State DOT CMV (Commercial Motor Vehicle) inspection teams.
City cops.
Federal DOT.
State truck scales.
I’ve been driving trucks for over 20 years,and hauling containers for ten.
Here is a question: What is the maximum weight for a five axle tractor trailer off the federal hiway system for the state
of Minnesota? Because if your over weight and get stopped by the DOT, they will want to open it up and look.
Just an example of not knowing invites failure.
They like us, they like us not, they like us, they like us not. I think when gauging the mood at the Kremlin, as long as the last petal on the daisy is; they like us not, we are safe to assume they would at least take the money from an entity that would want to use the weapon to harm or disrupt the United States.
So, the Russians have unveiled a new weapons system designed specifically to be used by the bad guys against us, and the Obama administration’s response…? (crickets!)
Fer cryin’ out loud what do they have to do to get this obozo’s attention??! This is a direct provocation and he simply snoozes!
@Dane: This system is marketed as being a military weapon, but practically it is a terrorist weapon! Even the terrorists are not fools enough to light up a US aircraft carrier! However, what they CAN do is to ship one of these by merchant ship and launch it by satellite command against an American port city! THAT is the threat! THAT is the attraction to the terrorists! That is the blatant provocation by the Russians!
Putin must be laughing his a$$ off!!!
Pay close attention to the video…you NEED 9 feet free and clear BEHIND the container to open and launch.
Look close at the truck,it would tip over without bracing…too heavy,rear wheels act as fulcrum.(fail)
Go,google pictures of container ships,you will see what I mean about 9 foot clearance behind.(its a no-go)
With out bracing,the train launch won’t work,too top heavy.
You would have to be in control of the ship,the entire crew of the port etc…
Notice, that is a two-stage launch,before the second stage ignited…yes radar would see it.(fail)
Now,about the weakness of the satellite launch control…who’s is it? and how do you know our space systems won’t “hear” it?
I’ll give them an “A” for effort but a “D-” for planning etc…
A rail car bed would need no bracing. The wheel carriage on a trailer is movable to the far end and that eliminates your balance issue.
It is not the front-to-back, it is side-to-side balance.
“A nuclear warhead on a scud missle(think Iran) launched from a container ship, and “One Second After”, it’s “Lights Out””
Why is this being hyped so much?? It’s “lights out” for a very small area, primarily that impacted by the explosion out to at most a few dozen miles, not the whole US. EMP is a function of yield and altitude, generally speaking the bigger the boom and the high it is the bigger the EMP footprint. You’d have to use several large nukes (megaton range) at precise HIGH altitude (LEO or upper atmosphere) to shut down the entire national grid.
The higher the boom, the weaker the EMP. That old R-squared law.
Ok, so the complete report as delivered to Congress in July of 08 is a bit to long to read. How about just the Executive Report.
Mark and 8: just pages 1 – 6 ought to do. http://empcommission.org/docs/empc_exec_rpt.pdf
Steve: I doubt the Longshoremen will give either Kim Jong Ill or Akmadinnerjacket alot of grief over the arrangement of the deck chairs on a false flagged frieghter.
Mark: Actually it’s The Compton Effect. Google it or emp
What this system would do best:
Blunt an invasion of medium or large coastal city.
Follow me on this:
Anywhere there would be reason to have a large amount of containers about you scatter these amongst them.
Your defense forces fall back fighting to draw the enemy in, and you volley fire all of them (Because if you don’t
the surprise is wasted). Then your forces counter attack.
These are “Warlord” weapons for Africa.Expect to see them there.
I think a lot of people here are missing a very important point. This missile does NOT have to be incredibly accurate and it does not have to have an incredibly long range. All it has to do is launch and successfully be able to hit a target at close range, perhaps less than a mile away. And who says it has to target an American warship? Think out of the box, people!
First, you smuggle three or four of these missiles on to a legitimate third-party container ship, perhaps one with Liberian registration. Do it in some foreign port where security isn’t that tight, such as in Africa or Malaysia. Make sure the ship is on a regularly scheduled voyage to the United States. Bribe some port workers to make sure your containers are placed at the top of the stack of containers.
Second, have that ship hijacked by Iranians or terrorists while at sea. Pirates are able to do this all the time, so a well-organized and equipped Iranian commando unit wouldn’t have such a hard time taking the ship from an unsuspecting civilian crew. Maybe even have some Iranians or terrorists be a part of the crew to facilitate the takeover of the ship. Once the ship is taken, the people now in charge make believe they are the original crew. The Iranians or terrorists then would continue on their original course to the United States.
Third, the ship continues on its original course and heads for its final destination, a major American container port located next to a terminal that loads and unloads natural gas tankers, such as the port of Newark, New Jersey. The Coast Guard and the US Navy would not be looking for this ship because it wasn’t reported as missing. To US authorities, it’s just a normal container ship entering a large, busy, American port.
Fourth and, unfortunately, final point, the hijacked ship would only need to come within a mile of that natural gas tanker filled with natural gas. The hijacked ship then fires all three or four of its missiles. At least one or two of them should hit. Maybe all of them would hit if the ship was near point blank range. At that range, almost anything would be effective.
Do you have any idea the type of damage an exploding natural gas tanker could do to this country? The explosion would be almost as powerful as a small nuclear bomb going off. During World War I an ammunition ship, loaded with conventional explosives, blew up in Halifax Harbor and obliterated the city. That was in World War I. A natural gas tanker explosion at the port of Newark would probably destroy not only the entire port, but also force enormous devestation to the surrounding areas. And, with the destruction of the port would also go the destruction of all of the oil and gas storage facilities in that port, which would create one hell of a bang.
Don’t think it could happen? Well, nobody thought 19 guys with box cutters would be able to hijack some planes and fly them into buildings. This could be a really bad development and, unfortunately, with enough money these days you can buy almost anything in Russia. It would be easy for Iran to purchase these missiles through a third party, such as Syria or maybe even Libya, especially in today’s arms industry.
If I were the CIA, the FBI, the US Navy, and the US Coast Guard, let alone the American public, I’d be very worried about this.
If I were the president, there would be a very public announcement that the use of this weapon would trigger an immediate, overwhelming counterattack on the factory that produces them with no regard for collateral civilian casualties.
Are you really sure you want to make and sell these things?
Why not have the DoD buy the first two years of production?
Now we’re the customer and can suggest some design changes. It would keep them tied up for another decade while they divert all their resources to dealing with the US procurement system. That should keep them off the market for a while…..
There’s a certain amount of paranoia here. Modular, “slot-out slot-in” weapons systems have been a goal for flexibility in the use of limited surface assets for some time. All this is is a way for cash strapped countries to cheaply weaponise cargo ships, in a form factor that matches their existing cargo handling equipment. It’s not a serious threat to a real navy. Not everyone can afford purpose built ships and equipment. I can see something like this being valuable to some countries as a defensive deterrent against their neighbours.
I don’t trust Russia at all – but the odds of them openly approving sales to terrorists or rogue states are low. Yes, they could end up there, but I wouldn’t want to be trying to smuggle something like this into a western country. Presumably it has power and comms connections tied into the ship’s radar which would attract attention from the most casual inspection, I doubt you can dump one on the waterfront then light it off.
Ha, all you guys make me laught with your paranoia.
So what that a Russin company has advertised a containerised missile concept. It is a concept. Also it isn’t an immediate fail. If it was on a container ship it would be on one in which the proragonist has full control. Watching you guys getting to het up about nothing has given me the best laugh in ages. Oh BTW I know a thing or two about containerised solutions as I do it as my day job. This could work.
While “the UN” as usual is sitting around playing with itself trying to pass “arms control” rules & this stuff is going on, all you need is the 20 million…
Pretty bleak picture, all the way around.
A lot of insanity on this small, blue orb, this 3rd rock from the sun.
I agree, but we knew it couldn’t go on forever our assuming that all wish for peace and good will toward all mankind. Now the United Nations preaches to the choir and coddles the corrupt.
August9,378 AD draws ever closer.
The ever so sophisticated and powerful Romans didn’t believe that a bunch of Barbarian Goths could in 2 hours wipe out 14 Legions,and cut the Emperor’s head off. But they did, and 22 years later Rome itself was sacked and pillaged. 1,600 years of technology later, things will move a lot quicker.
Strap in tightly gentlemen, the ride is about to get very rough indeed.
Russian channel about it
http://rian.ru/video/20100525/238500373.html