On April 3, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy John Rood told lawmakers that the Pentagon was developing a low-yield nuclear cruise missile for submarines. Rood said that the program was included in the Defense Department’s FY 2020 budget request, and is still in the early stages of development. “The sub-launched cruise missile is further...
On January 29, Russia conducted the first test launch of its nuclear-powered 9M730 Burevestnik (SSC-X-9 “SKYFALL”) cruise missile in almost a year at the Kapustin Yar missile test range, near the western Kazakhstan border. The Burevestnik is reported to have a nuclear reactor powering its engine, a feature that has yet to be fielded by...
Recent statements by President Trump and National Security Adviser John Bolton indicate the United States may soon withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The INF Treaty was a landmark achievement in arms control, eliminating nearly 3,000 nuclear delivery vehicles from U.S. and Soviet arsenals. Originally concluded between the United States and the...
For decades, the United States has led the effort to stem the spread of nuclear weapons, both among potential adversaries and among its allies and partners. The current state of deterrence and of the nonproliferation regime, however, is open to many doubts...
