Satellite Images Appear to Show China Is Making Significant Progress Developing Missile Silos That Could Eventually Launch Nuclear Weapons
Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler | CNN
Rapid construction at three suspected silo fields in China—which could eventually be capable of launching long-range nuclear missiles—appears to indicate that Beijing is putting substantial efforts and resources into the development of its nuclear capabilities, according to analysis of new commercial satellite images. Experts from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), a nonpartisan national security research and advocacy organization, found that China has made significant progress on suspected silo fields in the western part of the country.
Blinken on Iran Nuclear Deal: ‘We Still Believe Diplomacy Is the Best Path Forward’
Kelly Hooper | Politico
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the U.S. is “absolutely in lockstep together” with Germany, France, and the United Kingdom on coordinating a plan to get Iran back into a nuclear agreement. “We continue to believe that diplomacy is the best way to deal with the challenges, the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program,” Blinken said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Speaking from Rome at the tail end of the G-20 conference, Blinken said President Joe Biden has met with his German, French and British counterparts to discuss dealing with the threat of Iran’s nuclear program.
Allies Lobby Biden to Prevent Shift to ‘No First Use’ of Nuclear Arms
Demetri Sevastopulo and Henry Foy | Financial Times
US allies are lobbying Joe Biden not to change American policy on the use of nuclear weapons amid concern the president is considering a “no first use” declaration that could undermine long-established deterrence strategies aimed at Russia and China. The lobbying — by treaty allies including Britain, France and Germany in Europe, and Japan and Australia in the Indo-Pacific — comes as the Biden administration is in the middle of a “nuclear posture review,” a regular inter-agency process that sets US policy on nuclear weapons.
Pentagon Rattled by Chinese Military Push on Multiple Fronts
Robert Burns | Associated Press
China’s growing military muscle and its drive to end American predominance in the Asia-Pacific is rattling the U.S. defense establishment. American officials see trouble quickly accumulating on multiple fronts — Beijing’s expanding nuclear arsenal, its advances in space, cyber and missile technologies, and threats to Taiwan. “The pace at which China is moving is stunning,” says Gen. John Hyten, the No. 2-ranking U.S. military officer, who previously commanded U.S. nuclear forces and oversaw Air Force space operations.
Sensors Add to Accuracy and Power of U.S. Nuclear Weapons but May Create New Security Perils
R. Jeffrey Smith | Washington Post
A sophisticated electronic sensor buried in hardened metal shells at the tip of a growing number of U.S. ballistic missiles reflects a significant achievement in weapons engineering that experts say could help pave the way for reductions in the size of the country’s nuclear arsenal but also might create new security perils. The wires, sensors, batteries and computing gear now being installed on hundreds of the most powerful U.S. warheads give them an enhanced ability to detonate with what the military considers exquisite timing over some of the world’s most challenging targets, substantially increasing the probability that in the event of a major conflict, those targets would be destroyed in a radioactive rain of fire, heat and unearthly explosive pressures.
An Unearthly Spectacle: The Untold Story of the World’s Biggest Nuclear Bomb
Alex Wellerstein | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
In the early hours of October 30, 1961, a bomber took off from an airstrip in northern Russia and began its flight through cloudy skies over the frigid Arctic island of Novaya Zemlya. Slung below the plane’s belly was a nuclear bomb the size of a small school bus—the largest and most powerful bomb ever created.