Russia under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin is showing its seriousness in dealing with threats to its existence, be they terrorist activities by the Islamic State or strategic military moves by the United States and its allies.
Russian scientists, however, are setting their sights not on Earth-based threats but those coming from space—near-earth objects (NEO) such as asteroids and meteorites.
To be able to counter the perceived threats from these approaching space objects, Moscow is planning to convert some of its nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) into weapons for space defence.
Sabit Saitgarayev, lead researcher of Russia's Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau, told the Tass news agency that his team will try to target asteroid 99942 Apophis, which scientists believe may pass "dangerously close" to Earth in 2036.
He said the current ballistic missiles will have to be upgraded for them to be capable of annihilating meteorites and asteroids—an undertaking that will require several million dollars' worth of funds.
"Most rockets work on boiling fuel. Their fuelling begins 10 days before the launch and, therefore, they are unfit for destroying meteorites similar to the Chelyabinsk meteorite in diameter, which are detected several hours before coming close to the Earth," Saitgarayev explained.
"For this purpose, intercontinental ballistic missiles can be used, which requires their upgrade," he added.
Modifying the weapons of war will also require permission from the authorities, making this plan from Russian space scientists still tentative.
The scientific community nevertheless already has a consensus that asteroid 99942 Apophis will not cause any significant damage on Earth.
