New Russian submarine tests intercontinental missile for first time

Details: The new Borei-class submarine launched a Bulava ICBM armed with a dummy payload, while submerged in the White Sea to a test site in Russia's far east.

• The new class of subs can carry up to 20 missiles and is harder to detect. A single Bulava ICBM can hold a payload of six to 10 warheads, has a range of more than 5,000 miles and is designed to bypass anti-missile defenses, the BBC reports.

The backdrop: The U.S. officially withdrew from the Cold War–era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia in August, accusing Moscow of repeatedly violating the treaty.

• The treaty banned missiles with ranges between 310 and 3,400 miles and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles.
• Shortly after its withdrawal, the U.S. tested a ground-launched cruise missile that had previously been banned under the INF.

What's next: The New START Treaty, a 2011 U.S.–Russia agreement to reduce the number of warheads in their arsenals, is set to expire in 2021.

• Washington and Moscow can agree to extend the treaty for an additional five years, but the Trump administration has attempted to draw China into the extended version of the treaty.
• Former U.S. officials fear that bringing China into extension talks will jeopardize the original agreement between the world's two largest nuclear powers.
• Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said that extending New START may not make sense, according to AP.

Go deeper: China says it won't "stand by idly" if U.S. deploys missiles in Asia