Hans M. Kristensen

Hans M. Kristensen is the director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists where he provides the public with analysis and background information about the status of nuclear forces and the role of nuclear weapons. He is the co-author to the Nuclear Notebook in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the World Nuclear Forces chapter in the SIPRI Yearbook. Kristensen is a frequent advisor to the news media about the status and operations of the nuclear arsenals of the world's nine nuclear-armed states.

Recent Activity from Hans M. Kristensen

Urgent: Move US Nuclear Weapons Out Of Turkey
Posted on Oct.16, 2019 in NATO, Nuclear Weapons, Tactical Nuclear Weapons, Turkey, United States by

By Hans M. Kristensen Should the U.S. Air Force withdraw the roughly 50 B61 nuclear bombs it stores at the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey? The question has come to a head after Turkey’s invasion of Syria, Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian leadership and deepening discord with NATO, Trump’s inability to manage U.S. security interests in Europe […]

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New START Treaty Data Shows Treaty Keeping Lid On Strategic Nukes
Posted on Oct.04, 2019 in Arms Control, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, United States by

By Hans M. Kristensen The latest data on US and Russian strategic nuclear forces limited by the New START treaty shows the treaty is serving its intended purpose of keeping a lid on the two countries’ arsenals. The data was published by the State Department yesterday. Despite deteriorating relations and revival of “Great Power Competition” […]

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Military Might Takes Center Stage at Chinese 70-Year Anniversary Parade
Posted on Oct.01, 2019 in China, Nuclear Weapons by

By Hans M. Kristensen The Chinese leadership used the 70-year anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China to display a dizzying amount of military hardware during a parade in Beijing (see officially narrated video here; higher-quality video is here. Beijing is rapidly becoming the new Red Square when it comes to military […]

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Russia Upgrades Western Nuclear Weapons Storage Sites
Posted on Jul.24, 2019 in NATO, Nuclear Notebook, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, United States by

By Hans M. Kristensen Amidst a deepening rift between the United States and Russia about the role of non-strategic nuclear weapons, Russia has begun to upgrade an Air Force nuclear weapons storage site near Tver, some 90 miles (145 kilometers) northeast of Moscow. Satellite photos show clearing of trees within the site as well as […]

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DIA Estimates For Chinese Nuclear Warheads
Posted on May.31, 2019 in Arms Control, China, Nuclear Weapons, United States by

By Hans M. Kristensen During a Hudson Institute conference on Russian and Chinese nuclear modernizations, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley said in prepared remarks: “Over the next decade, China is likely to at least double the size of its nuclear stockpile…” This projection is new and significantly above recent […]

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The Pentagon’s 2019 China Report
Posted on May.06, 2019 in China, Nuclear Weapons by

By Hans M. Kristensen and Matt Korda [Updated] The Pentagon has released its 2019 version of its annual report on China’s military developments. The report describes a Chinese military in significant modernization. There is much to digest but this review only examines the nuclear portion. The DOD report does not indicate how many nuclear warheads China […]

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Pentagon Slams Door On Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Transparency
Posted on Apr.17, 2019 in Arms Control, Nuclear Notebook, Nuclear Weapons, Secrecy, United States by

By Hans M. Kristensen The Pentagon has decided not to disclose the current number of nuclear weapons in the Defense Department’s nuclear weapons stockpile. The decision, which came as a denial of a request from FAS’s Steven Aftergood for declassification of the 2018 nuclear weapons stockpile number, reverses the U.S. practice from the past nine years […]

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