Russia has come out and said that their Strategic Missile Troops plan on testing no less than 16 intercontinental ballistic missiles in 2016, double that of last year. Some of which will be like the one shown blasting off in the video below.

The Russian Ministry of Defense :

“For 2016 we planned 16 test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles, including flight test procedures for advanced weapons, and control of the technical readiness of missile systems that entered service. The number of test launches should increase next year.”

Of the 16 launches, 14 will be to test new technologies, such as the, and improvements to the new . The other two will be existing systems.

All this is part of a multi-pronged effort toand enhance its readiness. This includes the introduction of new missiles and launch systems, including the eventual return of rail-borne ICBMs. The Russian Navy, with its new ballistic missile, and Air Force, with its, are also part of this imitative.

Banned under the previous STARTII treaty, but not excluded in 2011's New START treaty, Russia is…

The U.S. is also ramping up its nuclear modernization efforts with a , a new , a new , and either a major But these projects all come at a very high cost. The just through 2024 will be a whopping $348 billion dollars.

Finding the money for new stealthy long-range bombers, new missile subs and a major reworking of the Minuteman system will be a huge challenge, especially considering competing priorities. especially, which is based around what can be considered to be ancient technology nowadays, has been the “red headed stepchild” of America’s nuclear triad. This is nothing new really.

Since the introduction of reliable submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), land-based ICBMs have been especially challenged when it comes to receiving funding. The end of the Cold War only exacerbated the situation. Some have even called Finding the money for a really deep upgrade, yet a lone a replacement for these missile, will be a challenge.

These breathtaking nighttime launches of the LGM-30G Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic…

It is really amazing how things have changed geopolitically in the last couple of years. Seeing so much money being dumped into nuclear weaponry is eyebrow raising to say the least, and it is just one more saddening sign that we have entered into another frigid period with Russia.

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