The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) enters into force today, 90 days after the deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification. So far, a total of 86 countries have signed the treaty, which complements existing disarmament measures like the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The TPNW is a significant milestone in the long and global […]
The US Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) has published a new version of its widely referenced Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat report. The agency normally puts out an updated version of the report every four years. The previous version dates from 2017. The 2021 report (dated 2020) provides information on developments […]
This report features the results of an October 2020 poll on US nuclear policy conducted by ReThink Media on behalf of the Federation of American Scientists. Download the report here. View the polling as a webpage here.
The primary deterrence challenge facing the United States today is preventing aggression and escalation in limited conventional conflicts with a nuclear-armed adversary.
The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) new Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan (SSMP) doubles the number of new nuclear warhead programs compared with the previous plan from 2019. The plan shows nuclear weapons advocates taking full advantage of the Trump administration to boost nuclear weapon programs. The new plan also shows significantly increasing nuclear weapons […]
Key Highlights Malware hosted within popular news stories about COVID-19 vaccine trials On September 18, 2020, FAS released a report locating a network of malware files related to the COVID-19 vaccine development on the Spanish-language Sputnik News link mundo.sputniknews.com. The report uncovered 53 websites infected with malware that were spread throughout Twitter, after allegations of adverse reactions […]
The Trump administration has denied a request from the Federation of American Scientists to disclose the size of the US nuclear weapons stockpile and the number of dismantled warheads.
The US Air Force is working to expand the number of strategic bomber bases that can store nuclear weapons from two today to five by the 2030s. The plan will also significantly expand the number of bomber bases that store nuclear cruise missiles from one base today to all five bombers bases by the 2030s.
Any time a US federal agency proposes a major action that “has the potential to cause significant effects on the natural or human environment,” they must complete an Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS. An EIS typically addresses potential disruptions to water supplies, transportation, socioeconomics, geology, air quality, and other factors in great detail––meaning that one […]
Key highlights Online debate surrounding herd immunity shows one-sided automation For months, debates about so-called herd immunity have occurred internationally. The idea behind this herd immunity strategy is to shield vulnerable populations while allowing COVID-19 transmission to go uncontrolled among less vulnerable populations. This strategy has been dismissed by many scientists for several ethical and […]
In their effort to paint the New START treaty as insufficient and a bad deal for the United States and its allies, Trump administration official have recently made statements suggesting the treaty limits the US nuclear arsenal more than it limits the Russian arsenal.
Key Highlights Top COVID Related Messages on Social by Reach and Engagement We conducted an assessment of COVID related messaging on Twitter in the past week (Oct 6th-12th), covering conversations regarding vaccines, masks, treatment, and public health responses. The results indicate traditional media reporting by established news sources such as the New York Times and President Donald […]