This fact sheet outlines the core issues involved in US plans to modernise the B61 bombs through the Life Extension Program (LEP), the reactions and costs associated with this, and the future of the B61s in Europe.
NATO
From Munich to Warsaw: NATO rethinks deterrence
The Munich Security Conference is possibly the biggest annual event in the calendar for global elites talking strategic security and stability. This year’s shindig confirmed that the myriad of challenges facing the world is as complex as ever. One issue in particular was vexing delegates: the confrontation between the West and Russia and its implications for NATO’s eastern flank.
The state of the UK and European debates on nuclear weapons
BASIC and the Federation of American Scientists hosted a joint discussion on the state of the UK and European nuclear weapons debates, and the importance of this in a global context.
Tactical Nuclear Weapons, NATO and Deterrence
Nuclear sharing arrangements and the active deployment of US theatre nuclear weapons (TNW) in Europe under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are viewed as critical components of its deterrence posture. Previously, this nuclear posture was aimed at the former Soviet Union (USSR) and Warsaw Pact alliance during the Cold War. Since the end of the Cold War and the absorption of former Warsaw Pact states into NATOthe official justification for those systems remaining is not connected to any specified enemy.
Labour Needs a Global Nuclear Disarmament Policy
Once again Trident emerges as a key flag issue that establishes where candidates for the Labour leadership election stand. Andy Burnham has perhaps the most difficult task, being deeply sceptical about nuclear weapons personally but claiming that current international instability, and particularly Russian threats to European security, means it is not now the time for Britain to consider abandoning the weapons.
Britain, NATO, and the Nuclear Way Forward
The British general election has come and gone, the UK has once again been humiliated at the Eurovision song contest, the May bank holiday is behind us, and all appears ready for another dreary summer.
2015 NPT Review Conference – expectations versus reality
Heightened international tensions, ongoing regional conflicts and disputes, and unresolved security concerns have always led to a challenging atmosphere at NPT Review Conferences throughout the Treaty’s 45 years.
Romanticizing the Bomb: How nuclear “realists” falsely framed the nuclear weapons debate
There has never been as much dissatisfaction with the international framework governing nuclear weapons (the Non-Proliferation Treaty) as there is today. The treaty is being reviewed and debated at the United Nations in New York this month, and for the first time in 35 years there are serious concerns that it might tear apart at the seams.