The Fiscal Year 2019 Budget in Context Introduction President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget requests $617.1 billion for the Defense Department’s annual “base” discretionary budget, which is more than $90 billion higher than FY 18 enacted levels. This amount does not include certain other security spending, including funding for nuclear weapons-related work in […]
Trump’s New Nukes
The Trump Administration has just released its Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), a document that calls for new nuclear capabilities and shatters a decades-old bipartisan consensus that reduced the role of nuclear weapons in American national security strategy. We dive into the NPR with nuclear experts Dr. Adam Mount, Anthony Wier, and Alexandra Bell.
Differences Between House and Senate FY 2018 NDAA on Major Nuclear Provisions
To download a PDF version, click here. A. Treaties: Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty House: Sections 1243 and 1244: Authorizes $25 million to establish a program of record to develop a conventional road-mobile ground-launched cruise missile system that, if tested or deployed, would violate the INF Treaty. Senate: Section 1635: Authorizes $65 million to establish […]
Mattis: Use of tactical nuclear weapons discussed with South Korea
Policy Analyst James McKeon was cited in The Military Times. “However, it’s not the size that determines their tactical or strategic status, McKeon said. The bombs are tactical ― and not governed by the 2010 new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START treaty ― if they are delivered on a tactical aircraft, such as an F-16 or […]
Fact Sheet: Multiple Independently-targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV)
Updated December 2024 Multiple Independently-targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs) were originally developed in the early 1960s to permit a missile to deliver multiple nuclear warheads to different targets. In contrast to a traditional missile, which carries one warhead, MIRVs can carry multiple warheads. For instance, a Russian MIRVed missile under development may be able to carry […]
