The Department of Defense decision not to renew the underlying contract for the independent JASON scientific advisory panel drew criticism from a bipartisan, bicameral group of congressmen and senators. “We believe that cancelling the JASON contract could damage our national security by depriving not only the Pentagon, but also other national security agencies, of sober […]
[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 has to arm these forces. Our current […]
All US military operations depend on the Department of Defense information network (DODIN). But the network is under increasing stress both internally and from external threats. “DODIN operations are arguably the most important and most complex type of operation the Army performs on a daily basis,” according to a new Army doctrinal publication. “The network is […]
“In 2018, China’s arms sales increased, continuing a trend that enabled China to become the world’s fastest-growing arms supplier during the past 15 years,” according to the 2019 China Military Power report published by the Department of Defense. “From 2013 through 2017, China was the world’s fourth-largest arms supplier, completing more than $25 billion worth of arms […]
The US Air Force last week updated its guidance on the command and control of nuclear weapons to include protection against electromagnetic pulse and cyber attack, among other changes. See Air Force Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3), Air Force Instruction 13-550, April 16, 2019. “This is a complete revision to the previous version of this […]
Noteworthy new publications from the Congressional Research Service include the following. Defense Primer: Electronic Warfare, CRS In Focus, updated April 12, 2019 U.S. Military Electronic Warfare Research and Development: Recent Funding Projections, CRS Insight, April 15, 2019 Assessing Commercial Disclosure Requirements under the First Amendment, April 23, 2019 The National Institutes of Health (NIH): Background and Congressional […]
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 and represents an unnecessary […]
For the first time in years, the Department of Defense has denied a request to declassify the current size of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. “After careful consideration. . . it was determined that the requested information cannot be declassified at this time,” wrote Andrew P. Weston-Dawkes of the Department of Energy in a letter […]
Against all odds, the Trump Administration last week successfully completed one of the most extensive, complex and meaningful declassification initiatives ever, releasing thousands of newly declassified records concerning Argentina’s former military dictatorship and the ensuing human rights violations. The records were presented to Argentina’s Minister of Justice Germán Garavano by David S. Ferriero, the Archivist of the […]
The latest set of New START treaty aggregate data released by the US State Department shows Russia and the United States continue to abide by the limitations of the New START treaty. The data shows that Russia and the United States combined have cut a total of 429 strategic launchers since February 2011, reduced the […]
Updated below In a startling blow to the system of independent science and technology advice, the Department of Defense decided not to renew its support for the JASON defense science advisory panel, it was disclosed yesterday. “Were you aware that [the JASON contract] has been summarily terminated by the Pentagon?” That was one of the […]
The number of leaks of classified information reported as potential crimes by federal agencies reached record high levels during the first two years of the Trump Administration, according to data released by the Justice Department last week. Agencies transmitted 120 leak referrals to the Justice Department in 2017, and 88 leak referrals in 2018, for an […]