AI Capable US Anti-Ship Missile Spooks Russia, Lavrov Vows To Retaliate

By Athena Yenko | December 10, 2014 3:52 PM EST

The United States is spooking Russia yet again with its Long Range Anti-Ship Missile or LRASM. The latest weapon from U.S. is built with artificial intelligence -- capable of sending messages to multiple missiles of its kind in what could be describe as a spider-web communication system.

The built in AI makes several missiles capable of independently strategising an offense against its enemy. The missile can also send threat signals and coordinates to other war ships and aircrafts within the battlefield. It can traverse waters at high-subsonic speeds, independently correcting its path along the way.

LRASM can hit a target at roughly hundred-mile distance. It could extend its range to 1,000 miles, delivering the enemy a 1000 lb payload. It is "a new anti-ship missile unlike any weapon system ever seen before," as described by Kyle Maxey of Engineering.com.

Lockheed Martin designed the LRASM with a penetrator and blast fragmentation warhead. It can survive harsh day time or night time weather conditions with its semi-autonomous guidance. The missile can hit a specific target it can independently recognise even with various warships and vessels present, even in denied environments. The multi-modal sensor suite, weapon data link, and enhanced anti-jam Global Positioning System made this all possible. "The semi-autonomous guidance capability gets LRASM safely to the enemy area," destroying "its predetermined target in denied environments," as described by Lockheed Martin.

On Dec. 9, Russian Foereign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed concern about the increased presence of U.S. anti-missile system in Europe. With this, Lavrov said Russia would have to retaliate with adequate measures.

"We warn that at some stage of the development of the American missile defence systems, we will have to take adequate measures to ensure our own security," Lavrov said according to a report from Reuters.

Lavrov said Russia had no intentions of being drawn into an expensive arms race with U.S. However, at the rate that U.S.' presence is becoming apparent in Europe, Russia will provide the defensive capabilities of the country reliably, Lavrov highlighted.

The U.S. had been increasing its presence in Europe since February of 2014 with the US Navy's deployment of ballistic-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook in Spain. Two other missile destroyers, USS Ross and USS Porter, are set to be deployed in the next two years. The deployments is part of U.S. commitment to bolster NATO's anti-missile presence in Europe under the European Phased Adaptive Approach or EPPA, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said as reported by Naval Today. During this time, Russian Foreign Ministry's top disarmament official Mikhail Ulyanov warned that if U.S. continues to increase its anti-missile weapons in Europe, then Russia would have to pull out from the Strategic Arms reduction Treaty.