The US Navy may well have conducted a successful flight test of the Trident II D5 SLBM. The interesting thing about this flight test, if the story is accurate, would be that it was an unannounced test.

My early warning radar was set off on seeing this because I know that the Navy conducted two flight tests in May from the USS Nebraska.

Why the surge in activity on Trident II D5 testing? This latest test, if true, would mean that the missile has been tested successfully 123 times in a row. Surely, the tempo on testing in May, especially in relation to the apparent third test, owes little to concerns about the reliability of the D5 to meet the damage expectancy criteria of OPLAN-8044 (formerly known as the SIOP).

The earlier May test was a Commander Evaluation Test which means that it involved the simultaneous launch of more than one missile, in this case two Trident D5’s. This time last year the Navy conducted a Commander Evaluation Test consisting of two SLBMs as well.

Could the apparent latest test be a Life Extension Test Bed-2 related measure (see my blog entry below)? Could this be related to RRW? It is interesting that the Navy should have conducted an unannounced test so soon after the Commander Evaluation Test.

The Guam story on this starts by stating,

…Two days ago, part of a missile washed up on the Island of Yeew in Yap, about 500 miles southwest of Guam. The front “nose fairing” is from a Trident II D5 missile, expended in a routine flight test from an Ohio Class submarine, according to Lt. Donnell Evans, public affairs officer for U.S. Naval Forces Marianas…

Are these missile parts in fact the parts from the Commander Evaluation Test? I do believe we need more information to really nail that the Navy has conducted a Trident II D5 test in addition to the earlier Follow On Commander Evaluation Test.

This story is not enough to make a proper conclusion.

I think we need a blog on US strategic nuclear forces of the sort that Podvig maintains on Russian strategic nuclear forces. He documents every test and even every satellite launch that he comes across that is in any way shape or form related to the Strategic Rocket Forces.

It is a shame that there isn’t one that does the same for the US. In fact, I have a better idea. Why not a collaborative project on a Podvig style blog on global strategic nuclear forces that would monitor developments very closely, like semi-daily, in the nuclear weapon states?

Actually, I have just got my own domain name and space so this blog is getting a major boost and upgrade. I’ve decided to get a little bit more serious about this. I will reveal all at the appropriate juncture.

In the meanwhile I promise an Iran entry (I see that ISIS has leaked the latest IAEA safeguards report) in the near future.