Commentators at the American magazine Military Watch Magazine argue that Russia’s strategic nuclear forces are currently the most capable in the world, pointing to recent large-scale drills as proof of that assessment.

They note that the Russian Defence Ministry recently reported patrols in Siberia by Yars mobile missile systems. The crews practiced changing launch positions, camouflage and measures to evade potential enemy strikes. The publication also reminds readers that the Yars system is capable of carrying multiple warheads.

The authors further highlight the Russian Sarmat strategic silo-based missile system, the first unit of which has already been placed on combat duty. In their view, Russia’s arsenal of land-based strategic missiles still has no equal in terms of capability, although they point out that China’s rapid arsenal modernisation and the growing number of deployed nuclear warheads are gradually narrowing this gap.

By contrast, the article stresses, the United States continues to rely on the world’s oldest class of intercontinental ballistic missiles — the Minuteman III — which has been in service for around 50 years and remains the only land-based ICBM type in the US inventory.

According to the authors, serious difficulties in developing a successor to this missile could ultimately force the Pentagon to abandon its land-based ICBM force altogether and retire the Minuteman III without replacement. In that scenario, the American nuclear triad would be reduced to just two components: air- and sea-based forces.