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 […]
Read MoreStrategic Security
US Officials Give Confusing Comparisons Of US And Russian Nuclear Forces
By Hans M. Kristensen and Matt Korda October 22, 2020 [updated] 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. […]
Read MoreAt 11th Hour, New START Data Reaffirms Importance of Extending Treaty
By Hans M. Kristensen Just four months before the New START treaty is set to expire, the latest set of so-called aggregate data published by the State Department shows the treaty is working and that both countries – despite tense military and political rhetoric – are keeping their vast strategic nuclear arsenals within the limits […]
Read MoreConstruction of New Underground Nuclear Warhead Facility At Warren AFB
By Hans M. Kristensen The Air Force has begun construction of a new underground nuclear weapons storage and handling facility at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The new Weapons Storage and Maintenance Facility (WSMF; sometimes called Weapons Generation Facility), which will replace the current Weapons Storage Area (WSA), will be a 90,000-square-foot […]
Read More(The Other) Red Storm Rising: INDO-PACOM China Military Projection
Some Missile Numbers Do Not Match Recent DOD China Report By Hans M. Kristensen U.S. Indo-Pacific Command recently gave a briefing about the challenges the command sees in the region. The briefing says China is the “Greatest Threat to Global Order and Stability” and presents a set of maps that portray a massive Chinese military […]
Read MoreThe Pentagon’s 2020 China Report
By Hans M. Kristensen and Matt Korda (With table corrected for typos) The Pentagon has just released its long-awaited 2020 version of its annual report on China’s military developments. In this article, we review the elements concerning China’s nuclear forces. The Size of the Warhead Stockpile The biggest surprise in the new report is that […]
Read MoreRemembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 75 Years After
Seventy-five years later, we commemorate the nuclear attacks and the unspeakable human suffering they inflicted, which remind us of the uniquely destructive capability of nuclear weapons and the importance of ensuring that they are never used in anger again.
Read More75 Years Ago: The Trinity Nuclear Test
The first ever nuclear detonation––known as the Trinity test––took place in New Mexico on July 16th, 1945. In the decades that followed, nuclear testing contaminated lands, oceans, and people, and triggered a nuclear arms race that continues to this day.
Read MoreThe State Department’s Compliance Report Plays the Blame Game, Despite Offering Little Evidence
The Trump administration clearly sees the Compliance Report as a tool to provide justification for shedding treaties.
Read MoreA Decade After Signing, New START Treaty Is Working
By Hans M. Kristensen On this day, ten years ago, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitri A. Medvedev signed the New START treaty during a ceremony in Prague. The treaty capped the number of strategic missiles and heavy bombers the two countries could possess to 800, with no more than 700 launchers and 1,550 […]
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