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Hypersonic weapons : Are we heading to a new Cold war ?

Rwehny Rawan

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Both the United States and Russia have announced their position regarding nuclear weapons, so both countries are entering a so called « new age of hypersonic war ». Some speculators and specialists say that Russia’s hypersonic  weapons can render US missile defense  systems « useless ». Opinions which lead to perhaps the most urgent questions: Can Washington allow this to stand and are we now living in a new era of arm’s race?

 

In the beginning, it appears crucial to mention the Russian’s president; Mr Vladimir Putin’s speech on Thursday, March 1, 2018, in which he said that this new technology renders American’s missile defenses “useless”, but US officials still  say “it needs further testing and is not yet operational”. The opinion of the majority in the media was rather inclined to prescribe the present situation as a « new » Cold war. However, some, including the British journalist Mary Dejevsky, do believe that the president’s speech was nothing but a tool for his campaign for the presidential elections held on 18 March 2018, which he has won with an overwhelming 76.69% of the votes.

This point of view could be criticized due to the fact that the speech was supposed to be given in December 2017 but the Russians were anticipating the Nuclear posture review. For that reason, the speech wasn’t employed to the service of domestic politics as some of the media claim.

On another perspective, especially on the US-Russia relations, some consider that this declaration on the Russian side was nothing but a « warning » to the US government for their actions against Russia’s sovereignty and that Russia now has the means to defend itself from further violation. This can be proved through the speech itself when the president brought up the issue of US withdrawal from ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile)  treaty. However, that may not be the only reason as George Szamuely, writer of Bombs for Peace: NATO’s Humanitarian War on Yugoslavia  explains. According to him, the NATO expansion right into Russia’s borders along with the « constant belligerent anti-Russian rhetoric emanating from the western capitals », are the main reasons behind the Russian decision to improve its defense measures.

From this point of view, Putin’s speech is nothing but a firm response to these factors and more combined.

Finally, and to answer the questions we asked in the beginning, there’s no arm’s race. Because according to experts, there is neither an ideological competitivity between two camps like the case was during the Cold War, neither the fever of massive producti1on of weapons we’ve seen during that period, at least not from the Russian side. They are developing more and more advanced weapons as a deterrent force against the increasing NATO’s threat. Even the budget dedicated to the defense is not comparable to the ex URSS ‘s  nor to the US’s this year. It’s really imperative to highlight that because the American President Mr Trump was the first to declare their nuclear supremacy and to increase the Pentagon’s budget to maintain this position, they can’t now accuse Russia of starting a new weapons race.

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INSAT : Leader de la Transition Énergétique avec la Plus Grande Installation Solaire Universitaire de Tunisie

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« L’avenir appartient à ceux qui se lèvent tôt… pour capter l’énergie du soleil. »

Cette semaine ont commencé des travaux à l’INSAT qui représentent un pas géant vers un avenir plus vert et économiquement viable avec l’installation photovoltaïque de 206 kW : la plus grande de tous les établissements universitaires tunisiens !

Prévue pour entrer en production début décembre 2024, cette initiative, dans le cadre du TEEP (Transition Énergétique dans les Établissements Publics) marque un tournant décisif dans la transition énergétique de l’institut, et plus globalement, pour la Tunisie.

Durant ces dernières années, près des trois quarts du budget annuel de l’INSAT étaient absorbés par le paiement des factures d’électricité. Ce poids financier, loin d’être négligeable, restreignait les possibilités de développement. Mais avec l’entrée en production de cette installation solaire, les choses vont radicalement changer. On espère que l’institut pourra enfin rediriger ces fonds vers des projets à forte valeur ajoutée : développement des infrastructures, amélioration des conditions d’études et d’accueil des étudiants, sans oublier un soutien accru à la recherche et à l’innovation…

Outre l’aspect économique, l’impact environnemental de ce projet est tout aussi significatif. En effet, en réduisant la dépendance aux énergies fossiles, l’INSAT contribuera directement à la réduction des émissions de CO2. Cette installation permettra d’éviter environ 110 tonnes de CO2 par an, soit l’équivalent de planter plus de 4 500 arbres chaque année ! Un chiffre impressionnant qui illustre bien la portée écologique du projet.

Sous la coordination de Mme Afef Ben Abdelghani, cette initiative s’inscrit dans un mouvement global de transition énergétique que la Tunisie ambitionne de mener à bien d’ici 2030. En tant qu’acteur pionnier parmi les établissements universitaires, l’INSAT ne se contente pas de suivre cette tendance : il en devient un modèle à suivre.

Aziz Dridi.

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