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Produce to Reduce: The Hedge Gamble

Click on image to download document. . By Nickolas Roth, Hans M. Kristensen and Stephen Young Note: This is the fourth of four posts analyzing the FY 2012 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan, each jointly produced by the Federation of American Scientists and Union of Concerned Scientists. See previous posts: 1, 2, 3. The FY2012 SSMP repeats the […]

09.19.11 | 3 min read
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Hydrodynamic Tests: Not to Scale

Click on image to download document. . By Nickolas Roth, Hans M. Kristensen and Stephen Young Note: This is the third of four posts analyzing the FY 2012 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan, each jointly produced by the Federation of American Scientists and Union of Concerned Scientists. See previous posts: 1, 2, 4. Since the 1950s, the performance […]

09.15.11 | 6 min read
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Ambitious Warhead Life Extension Programs

Click on image to download document. . By Nickolas Roth, Hans M. Kristensen and Stephen Young Note: This is the second of four posts analyzing the FY 2012 Stockpile Stewardship Management Plan, each jointly produced by the Federation of American Scientists and Union of Concerned Scientists. See the other posts: 1, 3, 4. According to the […]

09.13.11 | 6 min read
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Nuclear Plan Conflicts with New Budget Realities

Click on image to download document. . By Nickolas Roth, Hans M. Kristensen and Stephen Young Note: This is the first of four posts analyzing the FY 2012 Stockpile Stewardship Management Plan, each jointly produced by the Federation of American Scientists and Union of Concerned Scientists. See the other posts here: 2, 3, 4. A […]

09.12.11 | 5 min read
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2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul: Achieving Sustainable Nuclear Security Culture

By Igor Khripunov According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), nuclear security culture is “the assembly of characteristics, attitudes and behavior of individuals, organizations and institutions which serves as a means to support and enhance nuclear security.”[1]  The concept of security culture emerged much later than nuclear safety culture, which was triggered by human […]

08.31.11 | 1 min read
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Pentagon’s 2011 China Report: Reducing Nuclear Transparency

The Pentagon’s new report on China’s military forces significantly reduces transparency of China’s missile force by eliminating specific missile numbers previously included in the annual overview. . By Hans M. Kristensen The Pentagon has published its annual assessment of China’s military power (the official title is Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of […]

08.25.11 | 7 min read
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Rewriting US Presidential Nuclear War Planning Guidance

How will Obama reduce the role of nuclear weapons in the strategic war plan? . By Hans M. Kristensen The Obama administration has begun a review of the president’s guidance to the military for how they should plan for the use of nuclear weapons. The review, which was first described in public by National Security […]

08.12.11 | 2 min read
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20th Anniversary of START

July 31st is the 20-year anniversary of signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between the United States and the Soviet Union. The treaty, also known as START I, marked the beginning of a treaty-based reduction of U.S. and Soviet (later Russian) strategic nuclear forces after the end of the Cold War. START I […]

07.29.11 | 2 min read
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Norway’s Anders Brevik: Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Politics of Cultural Despair

ABOUT THIS REPORT (click to show) At some point, most security analysts face the dilemma of balancing expediency with analytical thoroughness. Such is the case with Norway’s Anders Breivik. As his victims await burial, Breivik’s treatise—the 1500 page, 2083: A European Declaration of Independence (click here for PDF link)—became available only a few days ago. […]

07.27.11 | 6 min read
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Panel Discussion at Brookings on NATO Nukes

By Hans M. Kristensen Steve Pifer was kind enough to invite me to participate in a panel discussion at the Brookings Institution about NATO’s nuclear future and the issue of non-strategic nuclear weapons in the Alliance’s current Defense and Deterrence Posture Review (DDPR). Steve presented his excellent paper NATO, Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control, Frank […]

07.19.11 | 1 min read
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Pakistani Nuclear Forces 2011

Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal has doubled since 2004 and could double again in the next 10 years if the current trend continues, according to the latest Nuclear Notebook. Click on chart to download full size version. . By Hans M. Kristensen and Robert S. Norris The latest Nuclear Notebook on Pakistan’s nuclear forces is available on […]

07.18.11 | 2 min read
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B61 LEP: Increasing NATO Nuclear Capability and Precision Low-Yield Strikes

The US military is planning to replace the tail section of the B61 nuclear bomb with a new guided tail kit to increase the accuracy of the weapon. This will increase the targeting capability of the weapon and allow lower-yield strikes against targets that previously required higher-yield weapons.               […]

06.15.11 | 15 min read
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