Thank much! Keep the good reporting coming!

Plus how does missile defense help ensure SSBN survivability?

Yes, there doesn’t seem to be any grand strategy. It’s just enhance capabilities, enhance capabilities. As for claim mission of MD is to secure retaliatory capability, that sounds like throwing spagetti against the wall to see what sticks.

But apparently Putin didn’t quite endorse that but decided to buy time by studying if it would be a good idea.

Hi David. Ha, great anecdote. But in a real crisis I wonder if incidents like that could influence perception of threat and reaction.

I’ve learned to be careful about saying Trump administration officials “know” something, but the tests are noncritical. Ever since the first Trump there has been chatter about shortening test readiness so that if… But there’s no technical or military reason to test, so this all Trump circus for now.