Russian Novel Nuclear Weapons and War-Fighting Capabilities

This article argues that Russia’s novel nuclear-capable weapons will have a minor but real impact on Russian war-fighting capabilities in Eastern Europe. Using publicly available assessments, it evaluates the weapons’ characteristics individually and when taken together to determine their possible impact on war fighting, deterrence, and arms control. Additionally, it analyzes Russian war-fighting concepts to project how Russian strategists think about their use and how they might integrate them into Russian war-fighting concepts. The study’s conclusions will assist military strategists and policy practitioners plan for a potential regional war on NATO’s eastern flank.