Cryria and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Difference between revisions
Cryria and Weapons of Mass Destruction (view source)
Revision as of 18:36, 28 January 2023
, 1 year ago→Present Day
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==== Fara Incident ====
The Fara Incident was an unidentified double-flash of light detected some 200 kilometers off the Cryrian island of Fara within the Kingdom's Loopian Sea EEZ on 30 March, 2002. Although unexplained, the phenomenon resembles the effects of a low-yield nuclear detonation. Further examination was hampered by the remoteness of the location as well as the fact that the Cryrian Navy had declared an exclusion zone around the area, purportedly for ongoing exercises in the aftermath of the recently concluded Second Yeralik Crisis. The latter fact has cemented the idea of Cryrian government involvement in the Incident.
Cryrian vessels had previously denied access to passing Älemsi trawlers, and the Älemsi Ministry of Defense made statements in 2008 indicating its belief that the CDF had conducted a weapons test off Fara Island. Cryria itself has only referred to the Incident as "An unidentified atmospheric event."
=== Present Day ===
The Cryrian government has denied suggestions of a nuclear weapons program or the existence of a nuclear arsenal on Cryrian soil in the aftermath of the Fara Incident. Despite some speculation that that the country might adapt its RBS 15 missile system to deliver warheads, or else construct gravity bombs that could be deployed from its Gripen fighter jets, there were few indications of any meaningful delivery systems constructed in the Incident's aftermath.
The matter briefly returned to the spotlight in 2014 when the Kingdom's ''Kraken''-class submarines were equipped with the RBS 20 Fångstarm cruise missile, which were thought to be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. If true, this would give the Kingdom a viable second-strike capability, albeit a limited one given that the ''Kraken''-class is powered by diesel-electric engines and the Fångstarm has not demonstrated a range beyond 1,500 km.
The strongest indication of a Cryrian nuclear deterrent was unveiled in 2018 when the CDF unveiled the development of the Lielsta series of missiles as a part of the Kingdom's defense investments during the Ymirland Civil War. The Lielsta I was determined to be a road-mobile derivative of the Ezethla's Arrow space launch vehicle used by the Royal Cryrian Space Agency. While purportedly a conventional weapon its exact specifications have not been published and its long potential range, low production numbers, costliness, and questionable accuracy when delivering conventional payloads suggest that it may be a strategic weapon intended to deliver nuclear warheads.
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