Nuclear Notebook

75 Years Ago: The Trinity Nuclear Test July 16, 2020

The first ever nuclear detonation––known as the Trinity test––took place in New Mexico on July 16th, 1945. In the decades that followed, nuclear testing contaminated lands, oceans, and people, and triggered a nuclear arms race that continues to this day.

New Chinese White Paper Subtly Criticizes Trump’s Approach to Arms Control July 29, 2019

China's latest Defense White Paper calls out the US for "undermining global stability."

Russia Upgrades Western Nuclear Weapons Storage Sites July 24, 2019

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…

Pentagon Slams Door On Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Transparency April 17, 2019

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…

FAS Nuclear Notebook Published: US Nuclear Forces, 2016 March 2, 2016

By Hans M. Kristensen and Robert S. Norris Our latest FAS Nuclear Notebook has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. This issue…

New Nuclear Notebook: Russian Nuclear Forces 2015 April 21, 2015

By Hans M. Kristensen Russian nuclear weapons have received a lot of attention lately. Russian officials casually throw around direct or thinly veiled nuclear threats (here, here and here). And U.S. defense hawks rail (here and here) about a Russian nuclear buildup. In reality, rather than building up, Russia is building down but appears to be working to level off the force within the next decade to prevent further unilateral reduction of its strategic nuclear force in the future. For details, see the latest FAS Nuclear Notebook on the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists web site. This trend makes it more important for the United States and Russia to reach additional nuclear arms control agreements to reduce strategic nuclear forces. Hard to imagine in the current climate, but remember: even at the height of the Cold War the two sides reached important arms limitation agreements because it was seen then (as it is now) to be in their national security interest.

New Interactive Nuclear Notebook March 2, 2015

A new interactive infographic detailing information on the world’s nuclear arsenals from 1945 to 2013 is now live on the website of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The Nuclear…