TOP NEWS Senate confirms nuclear commander The Hill Russia just tested an ICBM near the site of its deadly nuclear missile accident Business Insider Iran spins more centrifuges on U.S. Embassy crisis anniversary Associated Press United States Senate confirms nuclear commander The Hill11/1/19 The Senate confirmed Vice Adm. Charles Richard to be commander of U.S. Strategic Command by unanimous consent Thursday night as part of a batch of military nominees. Richard will also be promoted to a four-star admiral as part of the confirmation. Space-sensor program at Missile Defense Agency taps four firms for prototype development Military Embedded Systems11/2/19 Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Leidos, and L3Harris each received a $20 million contract to design a prototype sensor payload by the deadline of October 31, 2020. Russia Russia just tested an ICBM near the site of its deadly nuclear missile accident Business Insider11/1/19 Russian state news says the Russian military has successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from its new Borei A-class submarine. Last major nuclear arms pact could expire with no replacement, Russia says New York Times11/1/19 A Russian arms control official said for the first time on Friday that there was not enough time to replace the last and most important nuclear arms-limitation treaty with the United States before it expires early in 2021, raising the possibility that Washington and Moscow would then be free to expand their arsenals without limits. Middle East Iran spins more centrifuges on U.S. Embassy crisis anniversary Associated Press11/4/19 The comments mean that Iran is now operating double the amount of advanced centrifuges than was previously known. East Asia N.K. official heads to Moscow for nuclear nonproliferation conference Yonhap News Agency11/4/19 A North Korean diplomat departed for Moscow on Monday to attend a nuclear nonproliferation conference amid speculation that he could possibly meet with U.S. officials also attending the forum. N.K., U.S. may hold nuclear working-level talks no later than early Dec.: Seoul Yonhap News Agency11/4/19 North Korea and the United States may hold working-level nuclear talks in November or no later than early December, ahead of the year-end deadline Pyongyang has set for a nuclear deal with Washington, Seoul’s spy agency was quoted as saying Monday. Analysis/Commentary The real value of artificial intelligence in nuclear command and control War on the RocksPhilip Reiner and Alexa Wehsener 11/4/19 There is likely an intense internal debate going on within the U.S. government on the role of artificial intelligence in NC2 — one that is strong enough to be spilling into the public domain. North Korea’s strong hand against the U.S. Wall Street Journal11/1/19 With his nuclear arsenal firmly established, Kim Jong Un is in no hurry to make a deal, and he knows that President Trump is unlikely to seek confrontation. This is how an accidental nuclear World War III could begin National InterestMichael Peck 11/2/19 The Cold War is full of examples of near nuclear disasters and those remain a threat today. Net-zero world must conquer its irrational fear of nuclear power Financial TimesJonathan Ford 11/3/19 Decarbonization will be hard enough without zapping one consistent zero-carbon source. What if India’s missile defense system caused a nuclear war with Pakistan? National InterestMichael Peck 11/2/19 If one side is immune from attack, it raises the risk of conflict because mutually-assured-destruction no longer holds. Turkey has long had nuclear dreams Foreign PolicyColum Lynch 11/1/19 Ankara has been contemplating developing nuclear weapons since the 1960s.