Top News US intercepts Russian bombers, fighter jets off the coast of Alaska CNN Arms control limbo: Russia waits for US to talk nuclear arms deal The Christian Science Monitor The Search For Lost Nazi Uranium Forbes U.S. Nuclear News US intercepts Russian bombers, fighter jets off the coast of Alaska CNN5/22/2019 US F-22 stealth jets intercepted four Russian bombers and two Russian Su-35 fighter jets off the coast of Alaska on Monday, according to a statement from North American Aerospace Defense Command. Congress asks how the Air Force will pay for new missile warning satellites C4ISRNET5/21/2019 Congress is worried about a proposed massive budget increase to the Air Force’s next generation missile warning satellite system. House appropriators target Trump’s nukes, INF treaty busting weapons Defense News5/21/2019 While the Trump administration has made updating and upgrading America’s nuclear arsenal a priority, a pair of key House appropriations subcommittees are setting up a fight over funding for fiscal year 2020. Russia/FSU/Europe Germany’s long-awaited anti-missile program is about to face politics Defense News5/21/2019 The German government expects to receive a long-awaited industry offer for revamping the country’s missile defenses next month, just as the debate in Germany over defense spending kicks into high gear once again. NATO Secretary General marks 50 years of UK submarine nuclear deterrent NATO5/21/2019 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has praised the United Kingdom for maintaining a continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent for 50 years in a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May. INF to Collapse August 2 as Russia Unable to Save It – Russian Official Sputnik International5/21/2019 The Russian-US Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) will be terminated on August 2, the deadline for Washington’s announced withdrawal, since Russia is unable to save the treaty after US unilateral withdrawal, Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said on Tuesday. Opinion/Analysis/Commentary Arms control limbo: Russia waits for US to talk nuclear arms deal The Christian Science MonitorFred Weir 5/22/2019 Russian security experts, who have attentively watched recent United States approaches to North Korea and Iran, among others, are wondering about Washington’s apparently newfound priority for “arms control.” Is Russia about to be offered a whole new deal, in an area that is traditionally of huge importance to Moscow? The ‘SR-72 Bomber’: A 21st Century SR-71 with Lots of Weapons The National InterestSebastien Roblin 5/22/2019 The SR-72’s promoters argue that “speed is the new stealth,” reflecting a growing belief in some quarters that improved networked sensors will eventually diminish the survivability of stealth aircraft, making speed once again more prominent as means of defense. Given the Pentagon’s blossoming interest in all kinds of hypersonic weapons, it’s possible Lockheed’s Schrodinger’s cat of a hypersonic UAV may attract additional funding. However, that may place it at odds with the stealth-oriented paradigm the Air Force is currently committed to. Special Interest The Search For Lost Nazi Uranium ForbesKiona N. Smith 5/20/2019 Two physicists are hunting more than 600 uranium cubes from Nazi Germany’s failed WWII nuclear program. In the chaotic final days of the war, some of the uranium cubes ended up on the black market, others found their way to the U.S., and still others simply scattered to the winds. One of them found its way to University of Maryland physicist Timothy Koeth’s desk in 2013, kicking off a search for its origins and an international hunt for the rest.