Douglas Macgregor: Russia Deploys RS-24 Yars Missiles

The RS-24 Yars (РС-24 Ярс – ракета стратегическая (strategic missile)-modification 24) also known as Topol-MR, NATO reporting name SS-29[dubious – discuss] or SS-27 Mod 2), is a Russian MIRV-equipped, thermonuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missile first tested on May 29, 2007, after a secret military R&D project.

It is essentially the same missile as the Topol-M except the payload “bus” has been modified to carry multiple independently targetable warheads (MIRV). Each missile is thought to be able to carry up to 4 warheads, although there is uncertainty about what the maximum capacity is.

RS-24 is a missile that is heavier than the current RT-2PM2 Topol-M, and which some reports say can carry up to 10 independently targetable warheads. The 2007 tests were publicized as a response to the missile shield that the United States were planning to deploy in Europe. The RS-24 has been deployed operationally since 2010, with more than 50 launchers operational as of June 2017.

Yars does not appear to be a Russian word but the Slavic root яр (yar) is present, being a bank or steep ravine, consistent with the nomenclature of another newly fielded Russian missile, the RS-26 Rubezh (РС-26 Рубеж) meaning a boundary or outer limit. According to Sergey Karakaev, commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Yars is an acronym for "Yadernaya Raketa Sderzhivaniya" (Russian: Ядерная ракета сдерживания), meaning "Nuclear Deterrence Rocket".

Douglas Macgregor (born January 4, 1947) is a retired U.S. Army colonel, government official, author, consultant, and political commentator. He was a leader in an early tank battle in the Gulf War and was a top planner in the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. His 1997 book Breaking the Phalanx argued for radical reforms inside the Army. His thinking contributed to US strategy in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

After leaving the military in 2004, he became more politically active. In 2020, then-president Donald Trump proposed Macgregor as ambassador to Germany, but the Senate blocked the nomination. On November 11, 2020, a Pentagon spokesperson announced that Macgregor had been hired to serve as Senior Advisor to the Acting Secretary of Defense, a post he held for less than three months. Trump also appointed him to the board of the United States Military Academy, but the appointment was terminated by the incumbent president Joe Biden. Macgregor regularly contributes to Fox News and has appeared on the Russian state-funded channel RT. His commentary has been noted for disparaging Ukraine, immigrants and refugees.

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Footage from Russian Ministry of Defense via https://rutube.ru/video/6577310869587...