America’s Massive Missile Defense Mistake by Lt. General Robert Gard and Phil Coyle On June 22, the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system successfully intercepted and destroyed a target missile in a test over the Pacific Ocean. The Obama administration has said that a successful test would trigger the addition of fourteen more long-range missile defense […]
Summary of the House Appropriations Committee version of the Fiscal Year 2015 Defense Appropriations Bill
By Laicie Heeley, Kingston Reif and Brenna Gautam On June 10, the House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the Fiscal Year FY) 2015 Defense Appropriations Bill, which includes $571 billion in total funding. Although this is an increase from the 2015 requested budget amount, it reflects an overall $1.7 billion decrease in funding from […]
Fact Sheet: The Ohio-Class Replacement Ballistic Submarine Program
by Gabrielle Tarini Background The Ohio-Class Replacement program, also known as the SSBN(X), is a program to design and build a new class of 12 ballistic missile submarines to replace the U.S. Navy’s current force of 14 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. Ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) form “the most survivable leg” of the U.S. nuclear […]
Fact Sheet: The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program
by Justin Bresolin Updated by Brenna Gautam, June 2014 Origin and Purpose The Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program, also known as the Nunn-Lugar Program, was created for the purpose of securing and dismantling weapons of mass destruction and their associated infrastructure in the former states of the Soviet Union. Founded by Senators Sam […]
Report Card: Non-Proliferation & Nuclear Terrorism Prevention Program Funding
A report card grading the White House’s funding request and the House Armed Services Committee authorization for nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear terrorism prevention programs for Fiscal Year 2015. D – The White House’s fiscal year 2015 budget request cuts $534 million in funding for nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear terrorism prevention programs based on the enacted […]