![]() Equipped with modern guidance systems, the 9M729 and other new Russian missiles can fly precisely to their targets. In 2008, Russia breached it by testing an intermediate-range, ground-launched cruise missile known as the 9M729. Unfortunately, for more than a decade Russia has been violating the treaty. The elimination of those missiles provided a greater sense of stability between the Soviet Union and the United States and its allies. Those missiles were problematic because, if they were armed with nuclear warheads, they could, given their short flight time, be used for devastating surprise attacks against allies in Europe and against the Soviet Union. After signing it in 1987, the Soviet Union and the United States eliminated ground-launched missiles with ranges of approximately 310 to 3,417 miles. was a good treaty that reduced tensions and contributed to the peaceful end of the Cold War. To fix this gap, it is time for the Department of Defense to develop and field conventionally armed, ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles. Although the United States abided by the terms of the treaty, Russia violated it by fielding more than 100 banned intermediate-range missiles, and China, which was never bound by it, fielded thousands. After more than 30 years, the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (I.N.F.) Treaty ended last week, with an American withdrawal on Friday and a Russian withdrawal on Saturday. ![]()
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