By: Cassandra Peterson One of President Obama’s overlooked nuclear weapons milestones is altering the U.S. arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to carry only one warhead. Previously, U.S. Minuteman 3 ICBMs could carry three multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs). This “de-MIRVing” process, according to the Obama Administration, allows the U.S. to “enhance the stability […]
Press Release: Experts: President Obama’s Visit to Hiroshima Reflects Major Non-Proliferation Progress
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE James McKeon jmckeon@armscontrolcenter.org 202.546.0795 X 2617 Cell: 814.460.6943 Washington, DC – In approximately 12 hours, President Obama will become the first sitting U.S. President to visit Hiroshima since the end of World War II. The nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed approximately 200,000 people. This extraordinary gesture reflects the robust modern […]
Fact Sheet: United States Non-strategic Nuclear Weapons
Updated November 2023 While no consensus definition exists, non-strategic nuclear weapons, otherwise known as tactical nuclear weapons, are generally low-yield nuclear weapons designed for use on the battlefield. They can also be defined as weapons not covered by strategic arms control treaties, such as New START, which encompass nuclear weapons delivered via intercontinental ballistic missiles […]
Hiroshima: A Nuclear Past and Future
After weeks of speculation, it’s finally been confirmed: President Obama will make a visit to Hiroshima after the G-7 Summit later this month.
Fact Sheet: Preventing a Dirty Bomb: Why Radiological Security Matters
Updated March 2021 Nuclear terrorism poses a grave threat to human life. Though less devastating than a nuclear weapon, a terrorist incident featuring radiological material is far more likely due to the abundance of these materials and a widespread lack of adequate security. Consequently, physically protecting isotopes that could be used for a nuclear weapon […]