Nuclear Policy News – July 12, 2019

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Top News

Milley throws support behind nuclear modernization, Space Force
Defense News

New KAFB commander pledges to be a good neighbor
Albuquerque Journal

RUSSIA’S NC3 AND EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS
Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability

U.S. Nuclear Policy

New START’s Death May Up Costs of Triad Modernization
Breaking Defense7/11/2019
In any post-New START nuclear buildup, Russia will “at least initially” have an edge over the US, says retired Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, former head of Air Force Global Strike Command.

Milley throws support behind nuclear modernization, Space Force
Defense News7/11/2019
U.S. President Donald Trump’s choice for the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has thrown his full support behind nuclear modernization plans, the creation of a Space Force and developing new capabilities to offset China.

New KAFB commander pledges to be a good neighbor
Albuquerque Journal7/10/2019
New Kirtland Air Force Base installation commander Col. David S. Miller is pledging to be active in the lives of airmen and to be a good neighbor to the community of Albuquerque.

East Asia

A US Preventive Strike Against North Korea: Disturbing Results Reflect Disturbing Realities
38 NorthCatherine Killough
7/10/2019
The DPRK’s fulfillment of a technological milestone does not justify the cost and risk of full-scale war that a limited US military strike could trigger.

USFK confirms North Korea’s Hwaseong-15 ICBM can target all of US mainland
Jane’s 3607/11/2019
United States Forces Korea (USFK) has confirmed North Korean claims that the Northeast Asian country’s Hwaseong-15 (also spelled Hwasong-15) road-mobile, intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) can strike targets anywhere in the US mainland.

South Asia

India’s Strategic Orientation under the Second Modi Government
Future Directions International7/11/2019
It is expected that the new government will focus on expanding its strategic presence in the Indo-Pacific while simultaneously ensuring that it attains a credible strategic deterrence against both China and Pakistan. It is believed that the new government will undertake the above measures as a part of its Grand Strategy without altering the existing civil-military relationship.

Hypersonic Weapons Affect South Asia Too
Arms Control AssociationSamran Ali
7/1/2019
Michael T. Klare’s article “An ‘Arms Race in Speed’: Hypersonic Weapons and the Changing Calculus of Battle” (ACT, June 2019) analyzes hypersonic weapons developments in China, Russia, and the United States. South Asia is an equally relevant and important region in this regard.

Russia/Former Soviet Union/Europe

US position on New START Treaty prolongation still unclear for Moscow — top diplomat
TASS Russian News Agency7/9/2019
The diplomat mentioned the discussion on the fate of the treaty by Russian and US presidents in Osaka

Brand-New S-500 Missile Systems Can Tackle Attack From Space – Russian Military Official
Sputnik International7/8/2019
In late June, Sergei Chemezov, chief executive of the country’s defence industry giant Rostec, said that Russia had recently started manufacturing the sophisticated S-500 missile systems.

Opinion/Analysis/Commentary

The House is Setting a New, More Rational Direction for US Nuclear Policy
Union of Concerned ScientistsEryn Macdonald
7/10/2019
What’s different this year is the bill signals a new, much-needed change in direction for US nuclear weapons policy, one that would reduce the nuclear threat and cut some spending on these weapons.

Space Force’s Jupiter-Sized Culture Problem
War on the RocksPeter Garretson
7/11/2019
The U.S. military has thus far failed to create a unique military space culture that encourages the focus, thinking, and behaviors required to maximize comprehensive national space power.

America is woefully unprepared for cyber-warfare
Roll CallJohn M. Donnelly
7/11/2019
War in cyberspace is fully on, and the United States is losing it, according to about two dozen national security experts.

There Is No Such Thing As a ‘Small’ Nuclear War (But Trump Wants Mini Nukes)
The National InterestDavid Axe
7/11/2019
The Democratic lawmakers who control the U.S. House of Representatives are pushing back against Pres. Donald Trump’s plan to expand the United States’ nuclear arsenal with new and smaller “tactical” weapons.

Special Interest

RUSSIA’S NC3 AND EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS
Nautilus Institute for Security and SustainabilityLeonid Ryabikhin
7/11/2019
In this essay, Leonid Ryabikhin argues that distrust, misunderstanding and concern prevail in US/NATO and Russia relations “which increases the risk of unintended or accidental conflict. Human or technical mistakes and a variety of natural events can cause the failure or malfunction of technical systems and errors in decision making. The absence of contacts between the United States and Russian military and the failure to reach new agreements while existing agreements collapse worsens an already dangerous situation.”

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