Current pace of U.S. strategic warhead downloading could reach New START limit in 2010. By Hans M. Kristensen The United States appears to be moving toward early implementation of the New START treaty signed with Russian less than one month ago. The rapid implementation is evident in the State Department’s latest fact sheet, which declares […]
by: Alicia Godsberg The 2010 Review Conference of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (or NPT RevCon) will be taking place at the United Nations in New York from 3-28 May. You can follow the events of the RevCon here on the SSP blog, which will be updated every […]
Imagine that: a nuclear weapons free NATO working for nuclear disarmament? By Hans M. Kristensen While NATO struggles with whether and how it can discuss the future of nuclear weapons in the alliance, the Obama administration timidly avoids addressing the issue head on, and NGOs try to play government by proposing sensible steps such as […]
by: Alicia Godsberg On Tuesday May 11 FAS will be premiering our documentary, “Paths to Zero,” at the United Nations during the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT RevCon). The screening will be part of FAS’s official UN Office of Disarmament Affairs side event for […]
By Matt Schroeder Arms sold by the Defense Department to foreign recipients totaled more than $15 billion in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2009, according to a report obtained by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). The quarterly report, which is dated February 2009 and is required by Section 36(a) of the Arms Export […]
Click image for large version . By Hans M. Kristensen The Chinese navy has constructed what appears to be a demagnetization facility near an East Sea Fleet submarine base. The facility is the second spotted at Chinese naval bases since 2008. Chinese Naval Demagnetization Facilities The new demagnetization facility is located less than 10 km […]
On Tuesday, the Secretary of Defense released the new Nuclear Posture Review (NPR). I was quite disappointed in the document, thinking it is timid and gradualist. So you can imagine how distracting it is when I am part way through writing a blog trashing the new doctrine for not going far enough that I see […]
by Ivanka Barzashka and Ivan Oelrich Iran and the rest of the world are stalemated. Obama’s deadline for Tehran to address concerns about its nuclear program passed at the end of 2009, so the White House is moving to harsher sanctions. But the US is having trouble rallying the needed international support because Iranian intentions […]
The Nuclear Posture Review enshrines nuclear disarmament as a real goal for U.S. nuclear weapons policy for the first time. By Hans M. Kristensen It’s finally here! Hot off the press after a three months delay. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the United States has published a Nuclear Posture […]
by Ivanka Barzashka According to a recent article by the New York Times, Western intelligence agencies and international inspectors now “suspect that Tehran is preparing to build more [enrichment] sites”. This revelation, according to the newspaper, comes at a “crucial moment in the White House’s attempts to impose tough new sanctions against Iran.” However, these […]
Four months past a “deadline” imposed by the expiration of the old START treaty and amid much fanfare, President Obama announced that he and Russian President Medvedev had agreed on a new arms control treaty. I am not as excited as most are about the treaty and much of the following might be interpreted as […]
An important new treaty reduces the limit for deployed strategic warheads but not the number. By Hans M. Kristensen The White House has announced that it has reached agreement with Russia on the New START Treaty. Although some of the documents still have to be finished, a White House fact sheet describes that the treaty […]