Prepared by Ari Kattan For a PDF version of this fact sheet, click here.
More Negative Consequences of Missile Defense
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.
Peace Activists Infiltrate Y-12 “Security” Complex
Perhaps Y-12 should rethink calling itself a “national security complex.” Over the weekend a group of protesters consisting of an octogenarian and two baby boomers infiltrated a high security area at the Y-12 nuclear weapons production facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
“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).
What a Difference a Year Makes: Nuclear Bomb Refurbishment Will Now Cost $10 billion
Last year at this time, I was reading a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) estimate stating that the Life Extension Program (LEP) for the B61 nuclear bomb would cost $3.9 billion, already making it the most expensive nuclear warhead upgrade in U.S. history. By May, 2012 that estimate had ballooned to $6 billion. At today’s Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Senator Feinstein revealed that, according to the Pentagon’s Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, the Life Extension Program for the B61 warhead will cost $10 billion dollars. Amazingly enough, this plan for the B61 LEP was actually supposed to be a moderate compromise. NNSA had originally wanted to do a much more extensive and more expensive refurbishment of the B61.
