US Pledges No Destructive ASAT Missile Tests, Urges International Norm
Theresa Hitchens | Breaking Defense
The Biden administration is pledging not to test destructive ground-launched anti-satellite missiles, a novel if narrow promise on the international stage, and is calling on other nations to follow suit to ensure the safety of the heavens. “The destruction of space objects through direct-ascent ASAT missile testing is reckless and irresponsible,” states a White House fact sheet released today in support of the announcement today by Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris told a group of Space Force Guardians at Vandenberg Space Force Base tonight that the move would “help us protect out troops.”
North Korean Leader Kim Observes Missile Test to Boost Nuclear Capabilities
Soo-Hyang Choi and Josh Smith | Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed the test firing of a new type of tactical guided weapon aimed at boosting the country’s nuclear capabilities, the North's KCNA state news agency reported on Sunday. The report comes amid signs North Korea could soon resume nuclear testing according to South Korean and U.S. officials and after Kim broke a self-imposed moratorium on intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) testing with a launch last month. South Korea’s military said on Sunday it had detected two projectiles launched on Saturday from the North’s east coast towards the sea. The projectiles flew about 110 km (70 miles) with an apogee of 25 km and maximum speed of less than Mach 4, indicating they were short-range missiles.
Putin’s Iskander Missiles Are Battle-Tested—and Can Carry Nuclear Warheads
William M. Arkin | Newsweek
U.S. intelligence is watching closely for signs that the Russian armed forces are preparing for any kind of nuclear strike, American military and intelligence sources tell Newsweek. Ever since Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened the United States and NATO not to intervene, saying that if they did, there would be “consequences that you have never encountered in your history,” the intelligence agencies have been fixated on Russia's nuclear arsenal. “Desperation is the key to understanding what’s going on here,” a senior official at the Defense Intelligence Agency tells Newsweek.
Trump’s ‘Poison Pill’ Threatens Revival of Iran Nuclear Deal
Dan De Luce | NBC News
Donald Trump imposed more than 1,000 sanctions on Iran as president, but one of them could prove to be a “poison pill” that derails an effort by his successor to revive the 2015 nuclear deal designed to prevent Iran from building an atomic bomb. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal in 2018 and blacklisted Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, a powerful arm of the Iranian military, as a foreign terrorist organization in 2019. Now negotiations aimed at renewing the nuclear deal are at an impasse over the sanction, with Iran demanding the Biden administration lift the U.S. terrorism designation, according to a current official and three sources familiar with the discussions.
War in Ukraine Generates Interest in Nuclear Energy, Despite Danger
Steven Mufson and Claire Parker | Washington Post
The war in Ukraine has intensified interest across Europe in building new nuclear energy plants or extending the lives of old ones to liberate the continent from its heavy reliance on Russian oil and natural gas. Belgium made an about-face, deciding to keep open a pair of reactors slated for closure. The Czech Republic invited Western companies to deliver nuclear fuel to replace Russian supplies. Poland is negotiating to build new reactors in a quiet seaside town. The war has reversed the tenor of the nuclear debate, just when its prospects had seemed to dim.
U.S. Is Set to Launch a $6 Billion Effort to Save Nuclear Plants
Ari Natter | Bloomberg
The Energy Department is expected to provide details as soon as Monday on a $6 billion program aimed at keeping uneconomical nuclear plants in service, providing a lifeline to an industry that’s seen a raft of early reactor retirements driven by competition from cheaper power sources. The program, funded through the $550 billion infrastructure bill signed into law last year, will let owners and operators of commercial nuclear reactors apply for credits for plants that are likely to shut down for economic reasons if the closures would lead to higher emissions. The agency is set to issue a guidance document this week detailing the application process.