We Don’t Have Enough Information to Evaluate Arguments for a New ICBM
Ankit Panda | Defense One
The politics of American nuclear modernization are heating up. As defense budgets come under increased scrutiny, lawmakers are taking a close look at the future of the ground-based leg of America’s nuclear triad. On the current course, the country’s 400 single-warhead, silo-based LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles are slated for modernization and replacement with a new nuclear missile known as the Ground-based Strategic Deterrent.
Biden Administration Forges New Path on North Korea Crisis in Wake of Trump and Obama Failures
John Hudson and Ellen Nakashima | Washington Post
The Biden administration is charting a new course in an attempt to end North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile program, striking a balance between President Donald Trump’s grand-bargain, leader-to-leader diplomacy and President Barack Obama’s arm’s-length approach to the crisis, said U.S. officials familiar with the plan. The decision to pursue a phased agreement that leads to full denuclearization follows a months-long review that was briefed to President Biden last week by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Flurry of Diplomatic Contacts Fuel Iran Deal Speculation
Matthew Lee | Associated Press
A flurry of diplomatic contacts and reports of major progress suggest that indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran may be nearing an agreement. That’s despite efforts by U.S. officials to play down chances of an imminent deal that would bring Washington and Tehran back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. With the negotiations in Vienna on hiatus, the U.S. and Britain denied Iranian reports that any agreement was at hand with Iran for a swap of American and British prisoners. Such an exchange could be a confidence-building measure to revive the nuclear deal.
Estimating North Korea’s Nuclear Stockpiles: An Interview With Siegfried Hecker
38 North
38 North recently interviewed Dr. Siegfried S. Hecker, renowned expert on North Korea’s nuclear program and a senior fellow emeritus at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, about the status of North Korea’s plutonium and uranium enrichment production and implications for the North’s nuclear arsenal.
U.S. Navy to Put Hypersonic Missiles on Zumwalt Destroyers by 2025
Steven Stashwick | Diplomat
In a shift from earlier plans, the U.S. Navy revealed that it will first deploy advanced hypersonic weapons on advanced surface ships in 2025. Hypersonic weapons travel in excess of five times the speed of sound, allowing targets to be struck from great distances with little notice, and at speeds that make them exceptionally difficult to defend against. The U.S. military views these weapons as key to countering China’s huge arsenal of long-range missiles that can threaten U.S. bases in Japan or Guam, or potentially target its aircraft carriers at sea.
China’s New Nuclear Submarine Missiles Expand Range in US: Analysts
Minnie Chan | South China Morning Post
China’s newly commissioned nuclear-powered submarine is armed with the country’s most powerful submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) capable of hitting the US mainland, according to a military source and analysts. The Type 094A, or Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), was presented last Friday as part of the celebration to mark the 72nd anniversary of the PLA Navy. It was capable of firing the JL-3, or Julang (Big Wave) SLBM with a range over 10,000km (6,200 miles), a source close to the navy said.