Russia's Loss Of Ability to Watch for Incoming U.S. Missiles is Nearly Complete

Russia's loss of ability to see U.S. missile launches is nearly complete, apparently with a single satellite making one pass over the U.S. only about once every 10 hours.

As Putin spends his last dime trying to conquer Ukraine, his status as a world power is slipping, with little ability left to monitor for missile launches from the U.S. 

We’ve lived under fear of Russian missiles for more than 60 years and now learn that their space program is on its last legs. 

Russia’s early warning system is based on Kosmos satellites. They need four of them to keep a constant watch on the U.S., and they are down to one satellite. It can only view the U.S. about once in 10 hours. We are told the single satellite is not in great shape. Russia satellites failing. Here is another story 

With no money to pay soldiers in a long war, it’s not surprising that Russia’s basic defense infrastructure is failing. 

This means Russia can’t tell when or if we shoot our missiles, but doesn’t keep Russia from shooting its own missiles. In fact, in some respects an enemy with limited information can be more dangerous than a fully functioning military. 

A military that sacrifices a generation in meat wave attacks probably is not keeping its technology in good shape. Our greatest spies and generals probably don’t know what rocket equipment would really work in an all-out attack on the U.S. The Russians certainly don’t know either. 

Let’s say a lieutenant in charge of a missile has trouble getting a part. He asks for the part. His colonel is indifferent to his pleas. The colonel can be shot if he acknowledges that the missile isn’t ready. The lieutenant knows better than to press the colonel hard. It is impossible to know how much their offensive capability is degraded. 

We are told the early warning system is 75% degraded. If they had some capable technicians around, they would do better than that. Interesting times. Especially when our own leader wants to spend our own last dime on battle ships that look pretty so he can put his name on them.