A war among the world's biggest nuclear nations may not be imminent yet, but one or two of these nations seem to preparing for an Armageddon battle.
Following North Korea's lead, Russia is preparing to test a highly powerful nuclear missile capable of wiping out an entire country the size of France from the face of the Earth, killing millions of people in the process.
Being manufactured for the past seven years, this Russian intercontinental ballistic missile called RS-28 Sarmat has been sinisterly nicknamed "Satan 2" because of its sheer strength.
The weapon can house a dozen nuclear warheads inside its shell, making it the largest atomic weapon-carrying rocket ever manufactured. It weighs 100 tons, and reportedly has an operational range of around 10,000 kilometres, or four times the size of France.
Russian media has boasted that this missile can easily "erase from the face of the Earth land plots the size of Texas"—a statement viewed by some as an attempt to intimidate Russia's long-time rival, the United States.
Adding to RS-28 Sarmat's unthinkable strength is its remarkable speed. It can supposedly travel so fast that missile defence systems will not be able to detect it.
Even more worrisome, this weapon utilises stealth technology that makes it capable of being detonated in a place without radar systems detecting it. This means that people in its line of target can be completely obliterated without warning.
According to The Express, Russian broadcaster Zvezda said this kind of powerful weaponry will "determine in which direction nuclear deterrence in the world will develop."
"Satan 2" is not the first intercontinental ballistic missile that Russia will test. Earlier, Moscow built a Soviet-era version of the missile known as R-36M, the original "Satan" missile, but it did not perform as expected during the field test.
The warheads used for these missiles are fitted with advanced technology to override the U.S. missile shield.
