The Unsheltering Sky As test flights go, FTG-06b was a dazzling affair. The mission was part of a programme called Ground-based Midcourse Defence (GMD), which is supposed to provide America’s main shield against intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with a range beyond 5,500km (3,418 miles). FTG-06b involved the launch (pictured opposite) on June 22nd from Vandenberg […]
Real Clear Defense Publishes Article on U.S. Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Europe by Kingston Reif
U.S. Nukes in Europe Are Useless…They’re also a distraction from pressing needs By Kingston Reif As the members of the world’s most powerful military alliance convene in Wales this week for the NATO Summit, much of the focus will be on taking steps to increase the capability, readiness, and responsiveness of NATO forces in the […]
The Air Force can’t hide from the cost of nuclear weapons
by Kingston Reif The leaders of the Air Force nuclear enterprise are fond of saying that nuclear weapons are relatively cheap. Few are as committed to disseminating this message as Major Gen. Garrett Harencak, the Assistant Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration. Harencak’s stump speech on nuclear weapons, which he gives frequently […]
Senate Appropriators Defy Administration on Nukes
by Kingston Reif and Gabrielle Tarini A new Senate bill released at the end of July contains a number of small but critically important victories, most notably in the realm of funding nuclear material security and nonproliferation. As a budget battle between the President and Congress rages on, there is a conspicuous difference in the […]
Real Clear Defense Publishes Article on Nuclear Weapons Policy and Spending by Kingston Reif
Why America Doesn’t Need All Its Nukes…And It Can’t Afford Them Either by Kingston Reif Earlier this week in RealClearDefense, the Foreign Policy Initiative’s Evan Moore made his case for “why America still needs nukes.” Moore points to the conclusions of the recently released National Defense Panel (NDP) report on defense policy as evidence of […]
