Nuclear Information

Classified and Public: B-53 Bomb Yield Declassified February 11, 2015

The explosive yield of the B-53 thermonuclear bomb, once the highest-yield nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal, was 9 Megatons. “Effective 20 November, 2014, the Department of Defense and the…

Call for Applications: NPEC Public Policy Fellowship August 6, 2013

The Nonproliferation Policy Education Center (NPEC) Public Policy Fellowship is designed to educate policymaking staffers in the U.S. government on the essentials of issues related to nuclear weapons proliferation and nuclear…

California Action Alert: April 9 Call-in Day to Cut Nuclear Weapons April 8, 2013

Californians have a unique role to play in reducing dangerous stockpiles of nuclear weapons as well as helping to reduce the deficit. Our Senator, Dianne Feinstein, is the Chair of the committee that oversees the nuclear weapons budget, and is one of the most important leaders in the Senate on the issue. That is why an urgent Statewide Call-in Day is planned for Tuesday, April 9th, to show Sen. Feinstein that Californians want to cut spending on nuclear weapons. Current plans will have the U.S. spend up to $500 billion in the next decade on these weapons, in direct contradiction to the growing bipartisan consensus that we could safely cut our nuclear arsenals now and cut billions of dollars from the federal deficit.

Trimming Nuclear Excess December 19, 2012

Co-Authored by Meggaen Neely, Communications Intern at the Federation of American Scientists The U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals currently stand at more than 15 times the size of the total…

Challenges to Creating a WMD Free Zone December 3, 2012

With the current tensions in the Middle East, regional instability, ongoing debate about the nature and intent of Iran’s nuclear program, and the recent postponement of the Middle East Weapons…

U.S.-Led Actions in Iran in Dollars and Cents November 20, 2012

As tensions in the Middle East have grown, many have considered the impacts of U.S.-led actions against Iran. Yet, the focus remains on the damage to Iranian military…

A Lesson from the Cuban Missile Crisis, Fifty Years Later October 22, 2012

Courtesy of Monica Amarelo, FAS Director of Communications Fifty years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, many assume that we have moved away from the prospect of a nuclear war.

Lingering Questions on America’s Nuclear Posture September 24, 2012

Courtesy of ShutterStock The Nuclear Posture Review Report (NPR) came out two years ago. Yet, questions remain with regard to America’s nuclear posture. What are our objectives for America’s nuclear…

Modernization Progress of Nuclear Arsenal Proves Contentious June 22, 2012

United States Capitol (Credit: Allen Dodson) While the New START Treaty provides an unprecedented exchange of information between the United States and Russia, in a hearing on June 21 some senators aired their concern with the Obama administration’s commitment to fulfill its promise to modernize the U.S. arsenal. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee analyzed the Treaty’s implementation since February 2011. Massachusetts Senator and Committee Chair John Kerry and committee ranking member Richard Lugarof Indiana presided over the hearing. The panel of witnesses included Thomas D’Agostino, Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration; Rose Gottemoeller, acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security; and Madelyn Creedon, Assistant Secretary of Defense of Global Strategic Affairs.

Subcomittee Investigates Nonproliferation Metrics for Defense, Energy June 14, 2012

On Tuesday, June 12, the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities investigated the determining metrics for nonproliferation programs. The meeting, which was led by Senators Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Rob Portman of Ohio, featured testimonies from Madelyn Creedon, the assistant secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, Anne Harrington, the deputy administrator for the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation with the National Nuclear Security Administration at the Department of Energy, and Kenneth Myers, the director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and of the U.S. Strategic Command Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction.