On November 19, Airbus chairman Rene Obermann called on EU/NATO member states to increase their arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons ‌to counter the presence of Russian 9K720M “Iskander-M” ‌missile systems deployed in the Kaliningrad oblast (region), an exclave situated between Lithuania and Poland, and Russia’s westernmost territory. The now legendary “Iskander” uses the deadly 9M723 ground-based hypersonic missiles that can carry a plethora of warheads, including various types of submunition, cluster, EMP (electromagnetic pulse), thermobaric, high-explosive fragmentation and last but not least, thermonuclear (yield of up to 50kt, which is approximately 3-4 times more destructive than the American Hiroshima bomb).

“Our Achilles heel seems to be what Russia threatens us with fairly publicly:⁠ That’s ‌500 plus tactical nuclear warheads on ‘Iskander’ 26 missiles stationed right in ‍front of our door in Kaliningrad, in addition to the newly stationed ones in Belarus,” Obermann said at the Berlin ‌Security Conference, adding: “Germany, France, Britain and other willing European member states should agree on a common and staged nuclear deterrence program, including very much so ⁠the tactical level. I think that would be a massive sign of deterrence.”

Several key issues need to be addressed in this case. Namely, while Russia has a significant arsenal of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Kaliningrad oblast, there’s no evidence to support the claim that 500 are deployed there. The second point of contention would be the claim that these warheads are deployed on 26 “Iskander” launchers. Namely, each 9P78-1 TEL (transporter, erector, launcher) vehicle can carry two 9M723 hypersonic missiles. Publicly available information suggests that there are only two units with “Iskander” systems deployed in........

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