Considering that each group of RVs takes about 0.5s to reach the ground from the cloud, which is about 2 km from the earth's surface, the RVs reach the ground at a speed of about 4 km/s or almost Mach 12. This is breathtaking & staggering! There is no defense against it! 1/4
Note that RVs enter the atmosphere at staggering speeds, typically 16-20 times the speed of sound, traversing the atmosphere in about 20 seconds or reaching altitudes of 20–30 km in around 10 seconds. 3/6
At these speeds, random motions could destroy the sub-munitions, making stability critical. There’s no real need for sub-munitions to perform random or letting suffer from erratic motions by the surrounding. 4/6
They travel far too quickly & are dispersed extensively to be intercepted by any modern air defense systems. If the Oreshnik is capable of maneuvering or executing a wavy flight pattern during or in the final part of the mid-course phase, it would neutralize long range missile defenses even before reentry. It would effectively render interception in the mid-course phase a losing battle.