"The Explosion Was Really Serious": What Happened During The Russian Pacific Fleet's Exercises

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On August 26, in Peter the Great Bay in Russia's Far East powerful explosions rocked the area. Ships of the Pacific Fleet were nearby, and shortly before that, exercises involving the nuclear submarine "Omsk" had been conducted in the area. A theory has emerged that an “Oreshnik” missile may have detonated.

What could have happened on the Russian submarine? Could a missile or other munition have actually detonated there?

The website Charter97.org discussed this with Colonel (Res.) of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, military expert, and flight instructor Roman Svitan:
— The explosion was indeed serious; there is video and photographic evidence. The question is what exactly caused it and where it occurred.

This is an area where the Russian Navy operates. Therefore, the incident could be linked to either a submarine or surface ships. We can also factor in the use of UCPs (unmanned surface vessels—ed.).
Could a missile have exploded during launch? Yes, it could. But in this area—it’s unlikely. It’s too close. It’s unlikely the Russians would have launched a missile there.
If the missile itself simply exploded for no reason, that’s a major problem. The explosion could have occurred while the missile was being loaded or unloaded. That’s also possible. We can’t rule out the use of underwater vehicles either.
We could spend several hours discussing the possible causes and the likelihood of one explosion or another. In military affairs, especially on complex platforms like submarines, anything can explode—including support systems.

As for the “Oreshnik,” it’s unlikely that was the cause. There are several reasons for this. This missile is still too untested to be used at other sites. That’s practically impossible. Therefore, I think that if a missile did explode, it was some other type. It’s unlikely that it was the “Oreshnik.”

— What can you tell us about the “Oreshnik” missile itself? Could it turn out that the whole story surrounding this Russian “superweapon” is largely is largely a myth and propaganda?

— The “Oreshnik” missile is a simplified version of the “Yars” and a rather capable series of missiles—the “Topol” and “Topol-M.” By and large, this missile was created by removing one of the Yars missile’s booster stages.

In other words, they took a decent intercontinental ballistic missile and reduced its range to that of a medium-range missile. From an intercontinental missile capable of traveling more than 5,000 kilometers, they created a missile capable of flying only up to 5,000 kilometers. From a practical standpoint, this makes absolutely no sense. There was absolutely no point in creating this missile at all, given that the “Topol” and “Yars” were already available. This was most likely an attempt to siphon off funds somewhere: to carve out and allocate funding, and then funnel it elsewhere.

From a military standpoint, this is simply a pointless modification when intercontinental ballistic missiles already exist. It’s like having a pistol and suggesting, “Let’s make a slingshot.” Why would you need a slingshot if you already have a pistol? It’s the same scenario here. It’s just that you can allocate funds for a slingshot. Or, on the other hand, you can use the creation of something new for PR purposes.
Although it isn’t really such a new weapon. It’s something that already existed, and most of it was actually developed by the Soviet Union. The “Topol” series was originally developed by the USSR. So all of this looks more like a PR stunt—and one with a corrupt twist. And now they have to keep playing up this angle somehow. The Russians are running around with the “Oreshnik” as if it were a dead weight.

The operational effectiveness of this missile is far too low. It’s much lower than that of the “Topol” and “Yars” missiles.

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