Russia Determined to Revive Nuclear Armed Trains

For the latter half of the Cold War, the Soviet Union often struggled to keep up with America’s military prowess. Our government managed to “outspend” them in pretty much every category (a strategy the military-industrial complex continues to utilize). So to counter our high-tech war machine, they had to think outside the box.

One of the methods they used to counter our nuclear arsenal, was the “nuke train.” Russia has an extensive railway network, so they equipped 12 very ordinary looking trains with 3 ICBM’s, each carrying 10 warheads. From space, they were indistinguishable from normal trains, and their constant movement made them difficult to track.

Now Russia is planning to revive their nuke trains. They were originally decommissioned in 2007 in accordance with the START II treaty, but a new and improved version of the idea is currently in the works. Five of these trains will carry six ICBMs’s each, and will be armored to resist a nuclear blast. They’ll be able to run autonomously for a month, travel 1000 kilometers per day, and reach targets up to 10,000 kilometers away with pinpoint accuracy.  The project, which is codenamed “Barguzin” expected to be up and running by the year 2020.