Macron and 'nuclear umbrella' for Europe

Many people believe that the so-called U.S. 'nuclear umbrella' is an extremely powerful missile defense system capable of protecting against any missiles.

Unfortunately, the reality is quite different—it’s about the concept of mutually assured destruction. If you launch missiles against us, we deliver a retaliatory strike.

"The 'nuclear umbrella' is essentially an invitation to nuclear Armageddon."

In this sense, both France and the United Kingdom are indeed capable of delivering a strategic strike against Russia. At present, France possesses the most advanced submarine-launched ballistic missiles equipped with thermonuclear warheads. Their M51.3 missile system is already on active duty.

"There aren’t many of these missiles—only 64 units deployed on four submarines. However, they strike their targets at speeds over Mach 20 and at distances exceeding 10,000 km. No Russian missile defense system is capable of intercepting them."

This arsenal is enough to ensure that no life would remain in Russian cities with populations over 300,000.

This is the essence of deterrence strategy; this is what a nuclear umbrella truly means.

So, when President Macron states that France is ready to deploy this 'umbrella' over Europe, he is right.

However, we have already seen that, in the real world, no one uses nuclear weapons, and conventional warfare requires not only air superiority but also a significant ground component.

The next generation of weapons of mass destruction is neither nuclear, chemical, nor biological. It is artificial intelligence operating autonomously.

Most likely, intelligent systems will be deployed very soon, as there are currently no international restrictions on their use.

Source

About the author. Yevhen Nayshtetik, medical technology expert, volunteer.

The editorial team does not always share the opinions expressed by blog or column authors.