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SomeMichGuy · M
I think that the pressure & inability to keep up in the arms race (which helped sink the Soviet Union more quickly) HAD to have led to corners being cut, etc.
If old panels were not checked, maintained, upgraded...they probably quietly failed.
But the missiles themselves could also suffer the same fate; the life of components, connections, etc., depends on a lot of things, including the quality of the original components (likely poor) and the ambient conditions (likely all over the place since 1989, for silo-placed missiles).
Then is the fuel available / good? Will ignition work? Are the pathways along/around the exhaust still open?
If old panels were not checked, maintained, upgraded...they probably quietly failed.
But the missiles themselves could also suffer the same fate; the life of components, connections, etc., depends on a lot of things, including the quality of the original components (likely poor) and the ambient conditions (likely all over the place since 1989, for silo-placed missiles).
Then is the fuel available / good? Will ignition work? Are the pathways along/around the exhaust still open?