In January 2026 Russia was estimated to have 575 deployed strategic launchers with about 1530 nuclear warheads.
By all indications, Russia was preparing to conduct a test launch of an ICBM from Dombarovskiy/Yasnyy toward Kura during the 3-5 September 2026 window. The evidence suggests that the weapon to be tested was the Avangard hypersonic glider deployed by...
On 28 August 2026, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported conducting a successful launch of the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk test site. According to the MoD announcement, all warheads arrived at the Kura test site in Kamchatka....
On 24 August 2026, the Air and Space Forces conducted a successful launch of a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from launch pad No. 3 of launch complex No. 43 of the Plesetsk space launch site (Ministry of Defense video; also on YouTube)....
This post updates the Google Earth file with my most recent estimate of the status of Russia's early-warning and space surveillance radar network. The file can be downloaded here: RussianEarly-warningRadars2026.kmz (it's covered by this Creative Commons license). Note that the...
On 19 May 2026, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it will hold an exercise "to prepare and use nuclear forces in the face of the threat of aggression" in the period of 19-21 May 2026. It was said...
On 18 May 2026, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense announced the start of an exercise of "military units involved in the combat use of nuclear weapons and nuclear support." The objective was described as checking the readiness of the troops...
On 12 May 2026, at 11:15 MSK (08:15 UTC), the Strategic Rocket Forces conducted a successful test launch of the Sarmat ICBM (video of the launch). The missile was launched from a silo of the Dombarovskiy/Yasnyy missile division toward the...
On 23 April 2026, at 11:29 MSK (08:29 UTC) crews of the Air and Space Forces conducted a successful launch of an Angara 1.2 launcher from the launch pad 1 of the launch complex 35 of the Plesetsk test site....
On 17 April 2026 02:17 MSK (16 April 2026, 23:17 UTC) the Air and Space Forces conducted a successful launch of a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the launch pad No. 4 of the launch complex No. 43 of the Plesetsk space...
On 3 April 2026 at 9:28 MSK (06:28 UTC) the Space Forces successfully launched a Soyuz-2.1a launcher from the launch pad No. 3 of the launch complex No. 43 of the Plesetsk space launch site. The launcher, equipped with a...
The book
