An interesting article by Dr. Hui Zhang in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists points out that U.S. missile defense could lead to an unintended consequence—a decision by China to build more nuclear weapons.
“The Failures of Missile Defense”
Center Senior Science Fellow Phil Coyle published an op-ed in the National Interest on July 26 on the scientific and technical basis of US missile defense programs, specifically the ground based midcourse defense (GMD) system (i.e. national missile defense) and the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA).
The Failures of Missile Defense
Published in the National Interest Online on July 26, 2012 Op-ed summary below; read the full text online. Two recent scientific assessments of U.S. missile-defense efforts show that these programs are chasing scientific dead ends, unworkable concepts and a flawed overall architecture. One assessment is the “Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force Report on the […]
Quote of the Day: The Triad (Specifically ICBMs) Makes Sense (For Now) Edition
I believe that a triad continues to serve us now because it’s the best arrangement that we have today to meet our deterrence needs. It may not always be so, but for now I believe that the triad is exactly where we need to be. And I believe it for a lot of reasons.
On Iran’s “New” Missile Tests: Keep Calm and Carry On
An Associated Press report about Iran’s July 3 missile tests, which has been printed in several sources, takes the Iranian government’s assertions about the range of these missiles at face value–a common mistake, despite Tehran’s clear interest in exaggerating its capabilities.