U.S. to Deploy Long-Range Missiles in Germany by 2026, Russia Sees Move as Threat

By Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President, News

Russia is warning it will have a “military response to the new threat” following the announcement that the US will periodically deploy long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026.

Those types of weapons haven’t been in western Europe since the Cold War.

The US and Germany issued a joint statement on the deployment at NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington. The weapons involved include the Tomahawk cruise, SM-6 and hypersonic missiles, all equipped with non-nuclear warheads. According to the statement, all three have “significantly longer range” than those currently in place in Europe.

Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister, says the deployment will encourage Germany and other NATO allies to develop and buy their own long-range missiles. “We are talking here about an increasingly serious gap in capability in Europe,” Pistorius said.

The Kremlin’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Rybakov, told a Russian news agency, “Without nerves, without emotion, we will develop a military response, first of all, to this new game.”

The Tomahawk is a cruise missile that is primarily used by the Navy, but can also be launched from the ground and from the air. It was developed by General Dynamics in the 1970s and is now built by Raytheon.

The SM-6, also built by Raytheon, was designed as a surface-to-air missile, but can also be used as an anti-ship, air-to-air and anti-ballistic missiles.