US Seen Spurning China's Coronavirus-linked Call for Iran Sanctions Relief
Arshad Mohammed and Humeyra Pamuk | Reuters
The United States is unlikely to ease sanctions on Iran despite an appeal from China that it do so because of the coronavirus pandemic, sources familiar with the matter said, arguing that Tehran continues what Washington regards as its malign behavior. The sources, who included a U.S. official, diplomats and analysts, noted Washington has made offers to help Tehran with the outbreak but these have been spurned by Tehran. The United States reimposed sanctions on Iran’s oil exports in 2018 after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal that Tehran struck with six major powers to curb its nuclear program in return for relief from its economic isolation.
NNSA Study: Los Alamos National Lab Could Boost Pit Production to Meet National Needs
Colin Demarest | Aiken Standard
Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico could end up producing 80 plutonium pits – nuclear weapon cores – per year, if the National Nuclear Security Administration's hand is forced, according to a forward-looking environmental study published this week. New pit-related equipment and other upgrades to be installed at PF-4, a Los Alamos plutonium facility, would both "provide the ability to produce a minimum of 30 pits per year" and make possible "surge efforts to produce 80 pits per year" to meet national demands, the study, a draft supplement analysis of environmental impact, states. Federal law requires the production of 80 plutonium pits – the triggers at the heart of modern nuclear weapons – by 2030. The U.S. has not had for years a significant ability to make the nuclear weapon cores. The last place pits were produced en masse, the Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado, was raided by the FBI decades ago and was subsequently shuttered.
India-Pakistan Nuclear War May Lead to Global Starvation, Says Study
Kalyan Ray | Deccan Herald
Even a limited nuclear war between India and Pakistan may lead to global starvation because of a famine, unmatched in modern history, eclipsing every historic drought and volcanic eruptions, says a new study released on Monday.The research conducted by 19 scientists in Europe and the US has suggested that the climate and crop impacts of such a nuclear exchange would lead to unprecedented food shortages affecting at least 71 countries. The researchers used six state-of-the-art crop models and two sets of climate model simulations for the study and conclude that the release of 5 teragrams (one terra gram is one trillion grams) of soot would decrease the global temperature by 1.8 degrees Celsius and rainfall by 8%, on average, over the first 5 years.
Japan Unveils its Hypersonic Weapons Plans
Mike Yeo
Japan has outlined its research and development road map for its homegrown, standoff hypersonic weapons, confirming that it is seeking an incremental growth in capability and providing more details about the kinds of threats it is targeting with this new class of weapon. In a Japanese-language document published on the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency website, the government said two classes of standoff hypersonic systems will be deployed — the Hypersonic Cruise Missile (HCM) and the Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile (HVGP).The agency also provided more details regarding warhead payloads, with different warheads planned for both seaborne and land targets. The former will be an armor-piercing warhead designed specifically for penetrating “the deck of the [aircraft] carrier,” while a land-attack version will utilize a high-density, explosively formed projectile, or EFP, for area suppression.
The MDA is Still in Charge of Hypersonic-Tracking Space Sensors
Nathan Stout
The Missile Defense Agency will continue development of a space-based sensor capable of tracking hypersonic threats even though funding for the program is moving to the Space Development Agency, MDA’s director told members of Congress at a March 12 hearing. Responsibility for the program was a source of friction between the Department of Defense and Congress in 2019, with lawmakers pushing for the MDA to be the lead agency on the effort. The Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor is meant to counter the growing threat of hypersonic weapons being developed by Russia and China. Using a proliferated constellation of sensors in low earth orbit, HBTSS will be able to detect, track and maintain custody of hypersonic weapons as they traverse the globe, feeding that information to fire control systems that can eliminate the threat.
Russian Submarines Getting Countermeasures That Jam Sonobuoys Dropped by Enemy Aircraft
Joseph Trevithick | WarZone
Russia is reportedly working to equip certain classes of submarines, especially ballistic missile-armed types that form the core of its second-strike nuclear deterrent capabilities, with new expendable electronic warfare jammers. These are primarily meant to help protect the boats from sonobouys by preventing them from transmitting data to maritime patrol aircraft and anti-submarine helicopters flying above. This development comes as the United States, as well as its NATO allies, have been stepping up anti-submarine operations amid a notable uptick in Russian submarine activity.