Bulava missile test from Russian sub fails, would ours?

[yesdachi]

Russia has hit the mark several times with their new missiles but this one missed.
Here is ht article.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Missile Test From Russian Sub Fails
By Associated Press

MOSCOW - A test of a new Russian intercontinental ballistic missile ended in failure Thursday when it fell into the sea shortly after its launch from a nuclear submarine, the Defense Ministry said.

The nuclear submarine Dmitry Donskoy launched the experimental Bulava missile from an underwater position in the White Sea toward a testing range on the Kamchatka Peninsula, but it veered off its designated flight path and fell into the sea shortly after the launch, the ministry said.

The military previously had conducted four successful test-launches of the Bulava, which is set to be commissioned by the navy in 2008 and become a new standard weapon of Russian nuclear submarines. The Bulava has a range of 5,000 miles and carries six individually targeted nuclear warheads.

After years of desperate funds shortages following the Soviet collapse in 1991, the Kremlin has bolstered defense spending markedly. Officials touted the new Topol-M and Bulava missiles, saying that they would be capable of penetrating any prospective missile defense systems.

While previous Bulava launches had been successful, some other submarine-based missiles had ended in failure in recent years. The navy suffered two embarrassing launch failures during Northern Fleet maneuvers attended by President Vladimir Putin in February 2004 when one missile failed to blast off from a submarine and another exploded shortly after its launch a day later.

N. Korea’s missile tests were a failure.


My questions, answer any or all, I am curious about your thoughts.

Will the US ICBM missiles work?

When is the last time we seriously tested (missile, not the nuclear warhead) one?

Should we launch a few Minutemen to show the world we can hit a target?

Is it better if we don’t because we probably can’t hit a target?

Do our ICBM’s even matter now that we have subs and stealth bombers?

[Banquo's Ghost]

All weapons systems fail from time to time. Even those designed by the US.

There's also a serious expertise shortage in the Russian Armed Services as most people are badly paid and morale is very low. Top-grade engineers leave PDQ to work for oligarchs.

[Divinus Arma]

no

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

They might. You'd better be worring though, because the Ruskies are still pointed at you.

Who else has a "missile defence system"?

Cold War Two here we come.

[The_Doctor]

Cold War Two here we come.

I doubt that.

Read this (there are 4 pages):
http://www.channel4.com/more4/docume...ture.jsp?id=43

[spmetla]

Well I think that everytime we try out our missile defense system we shoot our own ICBM and then shoot them down so I assume they are fairly reliable.

http://www.physorg.com/news76399021.html

They'll always be ones that go bad. Even if the missile works then they'll be dud convential warheads too.

[rotorgun]

Does this mean we will now have to invade Russia to remove their regime because they too have WMD, or do we only do that to nations that are not capable of defeating us?

Put that in your pipe and smoke it "Dubyah!"

Sheesh,

[Ice]

Does this mean we will now have to invade Russia to remove their regime because they too have WMD, or do we only do that to nations that are not capable of defeating us?

Put that in your pipe and smoke it "Dubyah!"

Sheesh,

More along the lines of hitting us with a few thousand nuclear weapons. We'd win, but it wouldn't look pretty.

I don't understand why people view Russia as a huge threat. They would never attack us because they know full well would happen to them. Putin maybe a huge a arse, but he's not a moron.

[Hepcat]

true, that is what I say about the whole Cold War too, they were just trying to keep up with the US. Nobody was really stupid enough to fire them.