Nuclear Policy News – March 20, 2020

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REPORT: Under the nuclear shadow: Situational awareness technology and crisis decisionmaking
CSIS

U.S. to Iran: Coronavirus won’t save you from sanctions
Reuters

REPORT: Trilateral Arms Control? Perspectives from Washington, Moscow, and Beijing
IFSH

United States

REPORT: Under the nuclear shadow: Situational awareness technology and crisis decisionmaking
CSIS3/18/20
Informed by research and eight tabletop exercises conducted with nearly 150 participants overall, this two-year study examines implications of the emerging strategic situational awareness ecosystem and its impact on crisis decisionmaking.

At NNSA production sites, full steam ahead — with precautions — amid pandemic
Exchange Monitor3/19/20
As the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons laboratories conduct mass teleworking amid the COVID-19 pandemic, production sites with work already in the pipeline are still chugging along at about full staff while trying to protect their workforces.

Undisclosed delays plague atomic programs, cost billions to fix
Roll Call3/20/20
The Trump administration wants $3.1 billion more this year than last for the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons budget, but internal government documents show the raise is devoted substantially to covering previously undisclosed cost overruns and avoiding years of new delays in the majority of U.S. atomic weapons programs.

U.S. to Iran: Coronavirus won’t save you from sanctions
Reuters3/20/20
The United States sent Iran a blunt message this week: the spread of the coronavirus will not save it from U.S. sanctions that are choking off its oil revenues and isolating its economy.

East Asia

ANALYSIS: A perfect storm: Victor Cha talks COVID-19 threat to North Korea, nuclear deadlock
Stanford3/19/20
North Korea continues to declare that it has not had a single case of COVID-19, but health experts find it inconceivable that the infectious disease would not be in the country given its proximity to China and South Korea, two early victims of the pandemic.

Middle East

ANALYSIS: New sanctions against Iranian scientists underscore importance of IAEA investigation in Iran
Foundation for Defense of DemocraciesAndrea Stricker, Richard Goldberg
3/19/20
The Department of Commerce on Tuesday added five Iranian scientists to its Entity List, which consists of persons prohibited from acquiring sensitive U.S. items, such as those with dual uses in nuclear, missile, or military programs.

Russia and Europe

Russia’s Northern Fleet submariners to test fire Zircon hypersonic missiles
TASS3/20/20
Submarines of Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet will conduct test firing of hypersonic missiles shortly, Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Alexander Moiseyev said.

Russia’s advanced radar in Kaliningrad to monitor entire territory of Europe — source
TASS3/18/20
Russia’s Konteiner new-generation over-the-horizon radar, capable of tracking launches of cruise and hypersonic missiles at the distance of up to 3,000 km, will be deployed in Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad to cover the entire territory of Europe, including the United Kingdom, a defense industry source told TASS on Thursday.

Multilateral Arms Control

REPORT: Trilateral Arms Control? Perspectives from Washington, Moscow, and Beijing
IFSHUlrich Kuhn, Alexey Arbatov, David Santoro, Tong Zhao
3/20/20
With the end of the INF Treaty in 2019, trilateral arms control – meaning arms control between the United States, Russia, and China – has gained center stage.

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