National Interest:
The United States has revealed which Russian cruise missile Washington believes is in violation of the landmark 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.
Speaking at the Wilson Center on November 29, National Security Council official Christopher Ford revealed that the weapon is in fact the Novator 9M729—which carries the NATO designation of SSC-8. The land-based cruise missile is thought to have a range that falls between 500km and 5,500km, and is therefore illegal under the terms of the treaty, which turns 30 year old today (December 7). Many analysts like Jeff Lewis have long suspected that the INF-busting weapon in question is the 9M729, but until Ford confirmed their suspicions, there was no official word from the United States government.
