Iran Claims It’s Almost Doubled Stockpile of Enriched Uranium With Nuclear Talks Set to Resume
CBS News
Iran said it has almost doubled its stock of enriched uranium in less than a month, as it prepares to resume talks with world powers on curbing its nuclear program. Tehran has progressively abandoned its commitments to a 2015 nuclear deal since then U.S. president Donald Trump pulled Washington out in 2018, prompting Washington to impose fresh sanctions in response. “We have more than 210 kilograms [about 463 pounds] of uranium enriched to 20%, and we’ve produced 25 kilos [about 55 pounds] at 60%, a level that no country apart from those with nuclear arms are able to produce,” said Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi, quoted late Wednesday by state news agency IRNA.
Sputnik Was a Wakeup Call for the US. China’s ‘Hypersonic Missile’ Is a Trickier Challenge
Tim Lister | CNN
In national security terms, surprises and the inability to assess a threat are what keep the top brass awake at night. Sputnik briefly ticked both boxes. China’s rapid development of hypersonic technology may be of a different order. In the years after Sputnik, the US quickly overtook the Soviet Union in satellite and space technology. NASA was created in 1958 (and flew the very first hypersonic test vehicle in 1959). By 1960, the US had three times as many satellites orbiting the Earth as did the USSR. Parity was restored, despite some mishaps along the way. The first US response to Sputnik blew up on launch; the test of a hypersonic vehicle in October failed. So little is known about the Chinese program, it’s almost impossible to assess whether a larger gap has opened up.
Pentagon Bearing Down on Biden to Shelve Nuclear Reforms
Bryan Bender, Alexander Ward, and Paul McLeary | Politico
President Joe Biden’s pledge to limit the role of nuclear weapons is facing growing resistance from Pentagon officials and their hawkish allies, who are arguing to keep the status quo in the face of Chinese and Russian arms buildups. Biden’s top national security advisers will soon review the conditions under which the United States might resort to using nuclear weapons. Among the options are adopting a “no first use” policy, or declaring that the “sole purpose” of the arsenal is to deter a nuclear conflict and not use them in response to a conventional war or other strategic assault like a cyber attack.
U.S. Tests Israel’s Iron Dome in Guam as Defense Against Chinese Cruise Missiles
Alastair Gale | Wall Street Journal
Israel has used it to intercept thousands of Palestinian rockets and mortars. Now the Iron Dome missile-defense system is being tested in Guam by U.S. military planners concerned about possible Chinese attacks. The dome can protect only against limited types of missiles, and the U.S. is pursuing separate plans to beef up defenses against Chinese ballistic missiles that descend from space. Still, the Iron Dome test points to the wide range of U.S. hardware heading to the Asia-Pacific region as the Pentagon addresses a Chinese buildup that it has called its No.1 challenge.
Australia Could Push to Acquire Retired US Navy Los Angeles Class Nuclear Submarines
Brian O’Rourke | The Drive
The recently signed Australia–United Kingdom–United States defense agreement, or AUKUS, calls for the United States and Britain to share nuclear-submarine technology with Australia. Although the agreement was light on details of what, when, and how, plans apparently are for Australia to eventually build at least eight nuclear-powered attack submarines. In the interim, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is now advocating for Australia to obtain used nuclear submarines to get the sharing started so as to spin up the Royal Australian Navy’s submarine capabilities and nuclear know-how. Australia has never had a nuclear power plant of any kind.
China Builds Missile Targets Shaped Like U.S. Aircraft Carrier, Destroyers in Remote Desert
H I Sutton and Sam LaGrone | USNI News
The Chinese military has built targets in the shape of an American aircraft carrier and other U.S. warships in the Taklamakan desert as part of a new target range complex, according to photos provided to USNI News by satellite imagery company Maxar. The full-scale outline of a U.S. carrier and at least two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are part of the target range that has been built in the Ruoqiang region in central China. The site is near a former target range China used to test early versions of its so-called carrier killer DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles, according to press reports in 2013. This new range shows that China continues to focus on anti-carrier capabilities, with an emphasis on U.S. Navy warships. Unlike the Iranian Navy’s aircraft carrier-shaped target in the Persian Gulf, the new facility shows signs of a sophisticated instrumented target range.