Oh, the Cold War how I miss it so: Russia and America's missile wars

It is forging along a path of creating a portion of this fleet into an elite force known as Minuteman Elite. Minuteman Elite would improve the accuracy of Minuteman III missiles by using GPS satellites for navigation, further cementing the link between strategic nuclear weapons and space assets that would be problematical if we are to march head long toward the weaponisation of space, which we are.

So, the US is augmenting Minuteman III by improving the lethal power of nuclear weapons that the fleet is to deliver and by improving its accuracy. In other words, the US is working on its ICBMs, in conjunction with other aspects of its strategic triad such as modifying the fuse on the W76 warhead, in order to increase their ability to deliver a nuclear first strike. Russia is working on its ICBMs in order to increase their ability to retaliate and therefore deter.

That's a big difference and nowhere discussed in the blanket coverage accompanying Russia's latest tests.

In fact just a few months ago the US conducted a Minuteman III closed silo test from Vandenberg Air Force Base that employed GPS for navigation.

One can easily do a controlled experiment. How much coverage in the media did that get compared with the Russian tests?

To a great degree missile defence is a make work scheme for the US aerospace industry, which stands to make great profits by the usual mechanism of tax payer subsidy. Second, because strategic systems are a matter of survival strategic planners in Moscow must operate on the assumption that the system can work, even though the whole thing probably won’t work (PDF 97.3KB) because of counter-measures.

It would be crazy to start a new arms race in Europe, and Asia for that matter, for these reasons. But we live in a crazy world as is all too evident.