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STRATCOM Commander Rejects High Estimates for Chinese Nuclear Arsenal

STRATCOM Commander estimates that China has “several hundred” nuclear warheads. . By Hans M. Kristensen The commander of U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) has rejected claims that China’s nuclear arsenal is much larger than commonly believed. “I do not believe that China has hundreds or thousands more nuclear weapons than what the intelligence community has been […]

08.22.12 | 2 min read
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Blog
Talks at U.S. Strategic Command and University of California San Diego

By Hans M. Kristensen It’s been a busy week with two talks; the first to the U.S. Strategic Command’s Deterrence Symposium on August 9, and the second to the Public Policy and Nuclear Threats “boot camp” workshop at the University of California San Diego on August 10. STRATCOM asked me to talk on the question: […]

08.12.12 | 7 min read
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Blog
B61-12: NNSA’s Gold-Plated Nuclear Bomb Project

By Hans M. Kristensen The disclosure during yesterday’s Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing that the cost of the B61 Life Extension Program (LEP) is significantly greater that even the most recent cost overruns calls into question the ability of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to manage the program and should call into question the B61 […]

07.26.12 | 6 min read
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Blog
New Nuclear Notebook: Indian Nuclear Forces, 2012

The Indian government says its first nuclear ballistic missile submarine – the Arihant – will be “inducted” in mid-2013, a term normally meaning delivered to the armed forces. Several boats are thought to be under construction.                               Image: Government of India . […]

07.14.12 | 1 min read
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Blog
Event: Conference on Using Satellite Imagery to Monitor Nuclear Forces and Proliferators

This satellite imagery analysis from my conference briefing illustrates upgrade of Chinese mobile nuclear missile launch garrison at Qingyang (30°41’52.64″N, 117°53’36.25″E). Such analysis is becoming more important as the U.S. government is curtailing what it releases about Chinese (and Russian) nuclear forces. Click on image for large image version. . By Hans M. Kristensen Earlier […]

06.08.12 | 2 min read
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Global Risk
Issue Brief
Sanctions and Nonproliferation in North Korea and Iran

The international responses to Iranian and North Korean proliferation bear many similarities, particularly in the use of economic sanctions as a central tool of policy. This issue brief contains an comparative analysis of U.S. policy toward Iran and North Korea.

06.07.12 | 1 min read
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Blog
Second Batch of New START Data Released

By Hans M. Kristensen The U.S. State Department today released the full (unclassified) aggregate data for U.S. strategic nuclear forces as counted under the New START treaty. The data shows only very modest reductions of deployed strategic nuclear weapons over the past six months. The full U.S. aggregate data follows the joint and much more […]

06.01.12 | 6 min read
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Blog
NATO’s Nuclear Groundhog Day?

At the Chicago Summit NATO will once again reaffirm nuclear status quo in Europe . By Hans M. Kristensen Does NATO have a hard time waking up from its nuclear past? It would seem so. Similar to the movie Groundhog Day where a reporter played by Bill Murray wakes up to relive the same day […]

05.18.12 | 6 min read
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Blog
B61 Nuclear Bomb Costs Escalating

The expected cost of the B61 Life-Extension Program has increased by 50 percent to $6 billion . By Hans M. Kristensen The expected cost of the B61 Life-Extension Program (LEP) has increased by 50 percent to $6 billion dollars, according to U.S. government sources. Only one year ago, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) estimated […]

05.09.12 | 5 min read
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Blog
New Report: US and Russian Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons

A new report describes U.S. and Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons . By Hans M. Kristensen A new report estimates that Russia and the United States combined have a total of roughly 2,800 nuclear warheads assigned to their non-strategic nuclear forces. Several thousands more have been retired and are awaiting dismantlement. The report comes shortly before […]

05.02.12 | 2 min read
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Report
Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons

NATO’s Deterrence and Defense Posture Review (DDPR) will determine the number and role of the U.S. non-strategic nuclear weapons deployed in Europe and how NATO might work to reduce its nuclear posture as well as Russia’s inventory of such weapons in the future.

05.02.12 | 1 min read
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Blog
New Article: French Nuclear Modernization

By Hans M. Kristensen The organization Reaching Critical Will has published a collection of articles about the nuclear weapons modernization programs that are underway in the various nuclear weapons states around the world. My modest contribution is the chapter on France (pages 27-33). The report – Assuring Destruction Forever – illustrates that although the Cold War […]

04.16.12 | 2 min read
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