Updated November 20, 2024 Plutonium pits are a critical component of all U.S. nuclear weapons. The pit acts as a trigger: on detonation, the plutonium sets off a small nuclear reaction, creating a larger secondary explosion in the main nuclear payload. The United States produced between 1,000 and 2,000 pits per year during the Cold […]
Op-ed: How Iran’s research reactors prove the nuclear deal is still working
Research Analyst Samuel Hickey wrote an op-ed in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on how the JCPOA could set a new gold standard for ensuring civilian nuclear programs do not pose proliferation threats. “An underexamined success story from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiations is the effective blocking of Tehran’s ability to collect plutonium […]
Alarm in the U.S. over the massive construction of platforms for nuclear missiles in China
Senior Policy Director John Erath appeared on TV3, a Spanish public broadcast corporation based in Barcelona, to discuss a recently discovered major expansion of China’s nuclear missile silo fields.
China Is Still Not the New Soviet Union: Top U.S. Military Leaders Affirm U.S. Lead Over China
By John Isaacs There is a rising clamor in Washington, D.C., appealing for a substantial increase in the U.S. military budget to confront a resurgent China. However, despite China’s military buildup, the United States will maintain a substantial lead in key capacities, such as nuclear weapons, combat aircraft and aircraft carriers (see chart below). The China […]
Regardless of Blame, Iran’s Responsibilities Are the Same
By John Erath As of the latter half of July, prospects for some kind of revival of the Iran nuclear deal remain uncertain, and it is worth taking a few moments to examine the state of play. The Biden administration came into office favoring a return to the Joint Cooperative Plan of Action (JCPOA), as […]
