Since being accused in 2014 of developing the missile, Russia has repeatedly denied the U.S. assertions and claimed that Washington had essentially quit the Soviet-era arms-control pact already. During a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican Deb Fischer asked if Russia was increasing its production and deployment of the cruise-missile system. U.S. intelligence first detected that Russia was testing a new missile system in the late 2000s, but it wasn’t until 2014 when the administration of then-President Barack Obama formally leveled its accusation. The latest legislation funding U.S. military programs calls for spending up $60 million to develop a new ground-launched cruise missile to counter the Russian effort. Adding further to the mistrust is the U.S. conclusion that the Russian engineers deliberately designed the new missile system to blend in with other permitted missile systems, such as the Iskander.

Source: GNN Liberia March 20, 2018 17:37 UTC