Revealed: Tech Behind Russia’s Nuclear Trains & Weapons Packed with Lethal Mobile Missile Launchers

It's not that big of a secret anymore, that Russia is resurrecting a deadly weapon with technology that dates back to the Soviet Union heyday - the nuclear missile trains.

Officially dubbed as the BZhRK Barguzin or Combat Railway Missile Complex when translated to Russian, the nuke-delivery trains will begin its service in 2019, according to RT.com, somehow confirming the earlier reports that Moscow is planning to revive a Soviet-era tactic of launching intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that makes use of the trusty old train.

The Kremlin, the report added, is looking to operate five train units, obviously stuffed with frightening payloads of nuclear warheads.

Russian President Vladimir Putin views the nuke trains as his nation's direct answer to America's Conventional Prompt Global Strike blueprint, which the U.S. Pentagon touted as its military capability of launching attacks anywhere in the world in one hour.

Ironically, the technology governing the stealthy trains' operation is not exactly rocket science, save for the ICBMs they carry around, as briefly detailed in the RT.com report:

Element of surprise

Barguzin in Russia is a powerful eastern wind, which basically explains the name given to the nuke trains - they arrive unannounced and deliver death and destruction with fearsome force.

The BZhRK will complement the Kremlin's mobile nuclear deliver system on land. On sea, its counterpart will be the nuclear submarines that are currently in accelerated upgrade mode - both in stealth and firepower.

Primarily, the Barguzin will depend on Russia's extensive railway network - giving it the space for mobility and efficiency.

Unlikely war machine

Apart from being mobile, Russia's nuclear missile trains are prized for their ability to camouflage, allowing for undetected ICBM launches that make them very deadly.

The Barguzin carriages, RT.com said, will look like rolling refrigeration cars from afar, at least through the eyes of enemy spy satellites, thus increasing the trains' potential to bring fear and destruction.

Lightweight but killer Yars missiles

Each Barguzin will deliver the dreaded punch via its load of six RS-24 Yars missiles that RT.com said are lighter than its predecessors, which permit the BZhRK to travel on regular rail tracks at any given time.

But while the Yars missiles shed the heft of their older siblings, the payload is relatively lethal at a yield of up to 1.2 megatons.

Essentially, Russia under Putin will have 36 megatons of mobile and ready-to-fire nuclear missiles aimed at the U.S. and its NATO allies should the Kremlin realised its goal of rolling out five BZhRK Barguzins by 2019.