Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies (CUWS) Outreach Journal

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USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies (CUWS) Outreach Journal

CUWS Outreach Journal 12 June 2015

Feature Item: “2015 Report on Adherence to and Compliance With Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments”. Prepared by the U.S. Department of State; released by the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance; 5 June 2015. http://www.state.gov/t/avc/rls/rpt/2015/243224.htm This Report assesses U.S. adherence in 2014 to obligations undertaken in arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements and related commitments, including Confidence- and Security-Building Measures (CSBMs), as well as the adherence in 2014 of other nations to obligations undertaken in arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements and related commitments, including CSBMs and the Missile Technology Control Regime, to which the United States is a participating state. The issues addressed in this Report primarily reflect activities from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014, unless otherwise noted.

U.S. Nuclear Weapons 1. Nuclear Missiles Could Be Sited again on British Soil in New 'Cold War' with Russia 2. B-2, B-52 Bombers Deploy to Europe for Military Exercises 3. Energy Dept. Fines Two Nuclear Weapons Labs for Misplacing Classified Materials and Publically Sharing Weapons Designs U.S. Counter-WMD 1. Norway Commits to NATO Missile Defense System 2. First Test of Raytheon’s New SM-3 Missile a Success, Japan, U.S. say 3. US to Sell $1.9Bln Aegis Missile Defense Systems to South Korea U.S. Arms Control 1. Choo, Choo! Russia Reviving Elusive ‘Nuke Trains' With 30 Yars ICBMs 2. Russia Does Not Intend to Breach Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty — Lavrov 3. US Missiles in Europe Will Render 1987 INF Treaty Null and Void – Moscow 4. Moscow Says US Has to Return Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons to National Territory Homeland Security/The Americas 1. PLA's MIRV-Equipped Missiles may Pose Threat to US 2. Russian Bomber Flights Buzzing U.S. Airspace Doubled Last Year 3. Terrorists May Use Commercial Drones for Chemical, Biological Attacks Asia/Pacific 1. U.S. Believes N. Korea Has Secret Nuclear Facilities 2. China Conducts Fourth Test of Wu-14 Strike Vehicle

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama Europe/Russia 1. Russia Plans Bigger, Badder Version of Tu-160 Supersonic Bomber 2. Russia Grounds Tu-95 Bombers after Engine Fire 3. Russia Successfully Test-Launches Defense Shield Anti-Missile — Ministry 4. Russia Developing Upgraded Version of Oka Tactical Missile System — Defense Ministry 5. US Secret Military Biolabs at Russian Border Arouse Grave Concern – Moscow Middle East 1. 'It Is Reality We Do Not Trust West' 2. Dy FM: Time Limit Not the Case for Comprehensive Nuclear Deal 3. Iran Not to Allow Any Foreign Access to Military Sites: Velayati 4. Israel Tests Dirty Bombs to Study Effects of Hypothetical Attack 5. The Saudis Are Ready to Go Nuclear 6. Iran's Ballistic Missiles Could Derail Nuke Deal 7. Iran-P5+1 Deal Will Not Be Permanent: Senior Iranian Negotiator 8. 'Iran Has No Interest in Nuclear Weapons due to Edict by Khamenei' 9. Isis's Dirty Bomb: Jihadists Have Seized 'Enough Radioactive Material to Build their First WMD' 10. Iran Satellite Launches Tied to Ballistic Missile Program, UN Experts say 11. PMD Issue Not Recognized by Iran 12. World Powers would Accept Iran Deal without Answers on Past Arms Activity Commentary 1. Anthrax Scare: Remain Calm! All is Well! 2. SBIRS: The Pentagon's Most Important Space Program for Preventing Nuclear War 3. Calling Foul: The U.S. Response to Russia’s Violation of a Nuclear Arms Treaty

The Daily Telegraph – London, U.K. Nuclear Missiles Could Be Sited again on British Soil in New 'Cold War' with Russia Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond says there are 'worrying signs' about the increased activity of Russian forces and the UK would consider the pros and cons of taking US intermediate-range weapons By Christopher Hope, Chief Political Correspondent 07 June 2015 The UK could site American new nuclear missiles on British soil amid heightened tensions with Russia, Philip Hammond has indicated. The comments raise the prospect of a return to a Cold War-type arms race with Russia over the use of nuclear missiles The Foreign Secretary said there were “worrying signs” about the increased activity of Russian forces and the UK would consider the pros and cons of taking US intermediate-range weapons. Mr Hammond said there was “no clear sign” of an imminent attack on Ukraine but Vladimir Putin is “keeping his options open”. But he warned against making “unnecessary provocations” against Russia, which has a “sense of being surrounded and under attack”.

Mr Hammond told BBC1’s Andrew Marr programme that Mr Putin “has not ruled out a military option”. He said: “As we go into the G7 meeting and then to the European Council later this month renewing sanctions, we have got to send very clear signals to the Russians that we will not tolerate any breach of their obligations under Minsk.” The UK is thought to retain a stockpile of around 225 thermonuclear warheads, of which 160 are operational, but has refused to declare the exact size of its arsenal. Since 1998, the submarine based Trident programme has been the only operational nuclear weapons system in British service. The Pentagon is reportedly considering axing a Cold War-era treaty and deploying nuclear-capable missiles in Europe in response to Russia's breaches of international law. Asked if he would back plans to re-introduce US missiles to Europe, Mr Hammond said: “I would need to see the detailed case for that. I haven't seen a detailed case for it. “I think it is right to be concerned about the way the Russians are developing what they call asymmetric warfare doctrine.” Pressed on whether that would be a way to send a message to the Russian president, he replied: “It could be, but I think we have got a very delicate act to perform here. “We have got to send a clear signal to Russia that we will not allow them to transgress our red lines. “At the same time, we have to recognise that the Russians do have a sense of being surrounded and under attack and we don't want to make unnecessary provocations.” Asked if American missiles could be based in Britain, he said: “We would look at the case. We work extremely closely with the Americans. “That would be a decision that we would make together if that proposition was on the table. We would look at all the pros and the cons and come to a conclusion.” He added: “There have been some worrying signs of stepping up levels of activity both by Russian forces and by Russian-controlled separatist forces.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11657690/Nuclear-missiles-could- be-sited-again-on-British-soil-in-new-Cold-War-with-Russia.html Return to Top

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama

Military Times – Tysons Corner, VA B-2, B-52 Bombers Deploy to Europe for Military Exercises By Oriana Pawlyk, Staff writer June 7, 2015 Two U.S. Air Force B-2 stealth bombers on Sunday joined B-52s in Europe for additional exercises. The Spirits and airmen from the 509th and 131st Bomb Wings traveled from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, to RAF Fairford, England, and conducted hot-pit refueling and engine-running crew change skills tests, according to an Air Force news release. The events were meant to demonstrate the "ability of the aircraft to forward deploy and deliver conventional and nuclear deterrence anytime and anywhere," the release said. The release did not say how long the B-2s would remain in the region. On Friday, three B-52 bombers deployed to Europe where they will fly training missions over the Baltic Sea. The Stratofortresses and 330 airmen, assigned to 5th Bomb Wing, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, will participate in multinational exercises Baltic Operations 15 (BALTOPS) and Saber Strike 15 during their month-long deployment to RAF Fairford. The aircraft will demonstrate the "United States' long-range global strike capability" in the region in addition to coordinate training with partners and allies at a time when Russian-backed separatists have increased their offensive in eastern Ukraine. Recently, Russian aircraft acted aggressively toward American warships in international waters. The Navy released footage last week of Russian Su-24 aircraft flying past the USS Ross in the Black Sea. The bombers "will integrate into several exercise activities, including air intercept training, simulated mining operations during Saber Strike, inert ordnance drops during BALTOPS, and close air support" over international waters in the Baltic Sea and the territory of the Baltic states and Poland, according to a news release. "This deployment to RAF Fairford was specifically designed and closely coordinated with the United Kingdom and our regional allies to ensure maximum opportunities to synchronize and integrate our bomber capabilities with their military assets," Navy Adm. Cecil Haney, U.S. Strategic Command commander, said in the release. "Participation of B-52s in Exercises BALTOPS and Saber Strike demonstrates our nation's steadfast commitment to promoting regional stability and security, fostering cooperation and increasing interoperability as we work alongside our allies toward mutual goals," he said. Last June, the Pentagon sent two B-2s and three B-52s to Europe for similar training events days after President Obama announced he would increase the U.S. military presence in the region following Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. According to U.S. Strategic Command, the recent deployment follows a series of several global missions for the bombers during the past year: Two B-52s participated alongside Jordanian forces in Central Command's Exercise Eager Lion 2015 in May.

In April, four B-52s flew round-trip flights during exercise Polar Growl to the Arctic and North Sea regions. B-52s also participated in NATO Exercise Noble Justification in October 2014, assisting in the exercise's focus of validating the Spanish Maritime Force as the 2015 Maritime NATO Response Force. http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/06/06/b-52-bombers-deploy-to-europe-for- military-exercises/28598701/ Return to Top

AllGov.com – Washington, D.C. Energy Dept. Fines Two Nuclear Weapons Labs for Misplacing Classified Materials and Publically Sharing Weapons Designs By Steve Straehley Sunday, June 07, 2015 Contractors running two U.S. nuclear weapons labs will be fined for allowing information on the construction of weapons to be available in the public domain and losing track of nuclear materials in the wake of an Energy Department audit of the facilities. At Los Alamos National Laboratories, officials couldn’t account for a piece of classified “matter” that had been scheduled to be shipped to a nuclear disposal site in Nevada. The material, last logged in at Los Alamos in 2007, is assumed to have been shipped out, but officials can’t confirm that. It wasn’t noticed for five years that the material wasn’t accounted for. “The fact that [Los Alamos National Security] didn’t realize this material was missing for five years, and the unreliable nature of their review of it when they did learn about it is very disturbing,” Jay Coghlan, executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, a nonprofit watchdog organization that tracks nuclear labs in that state, told The Center for Public Integrity (CPI). “It’s particularly troubling because the investigators’ report says it could have had a high level of damage to national security.” Los Alamos National Security, the company that runs the labs on a $2.2 billion annual contract, was fined $247,500 for failing to secure the classified “matter,” and an additional $150,000 for an unrelated employee safety violation. At the Sandia National Laboratory, officials had included classified nuclear weapon design information on a server able to be accessed by the public for years. They even gave PowerPoint demonstrations from 2003 to 2011 that exposed the information to outside groups and handed out computer disks with the demo. Investigators found 47 instances of the presentation available on Sandia servers that were open to the public. Sandia Corp., the lab’s Lockheed-Martin-owned managing contractor, was fined $577,500 for the breach. It shouldn’t be difficult to pay, since the company received $26 million in bonuses from the government last year.

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama

“Sandia continues to experience a significant number of security incidents, topping out at 190 incidents of security concern in FY2014,” the administration’s last annual performance evaluation of Sandia reported, according to CPI. http://www.allgov.com/news/controversies/energy-dept-fines-two-nuclear-weapons-labs-for- misplacing-classified-materials-and-publically-sharing-weapons-designs-150607?news=856663 Return to Top

Sputnik International – Russian Information Agency Norway Commits to NATO Missile Defense System After meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Norway's Prime Minister said the country is obliged to take part in the missile defense system. 7 June 2015 Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg pledged that Norway will increase its military spending in line with NATO policy, and also contribute to the NATO missile defense system, after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday. "It is necessary for us to contribute to this," Solberg told a press conference on Friday following the meeting. "As a committed NATO member, we should also be committed to that part of the strategy." "We have to go through this and look at what our contribution should be." The NATO Missile Defense System comprises radar equipment and missile interceptors which have already been deployed to Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey and the Czech Republic. The US has deployed three of its four US Navy ballistic missile defense destroyers to Europe; it sees them as a key component of the missile defense shield. At a previous meeting between Solberg and Stoltenberg in January, NATO's Secretary General said all members had to meet the two percent GDP target for military spending: "There is an obligation for all NATO countries to follow up the decisions we make together. This also applies to the two percent target adopted in Wales in autumn 2014," Stoltenberg told the press after the meeting. According to calculations from Norway's Defense Research Institute [FFI], meeting the two percent target requires another 17 billion kroner [$2.14 billion], in addition to this year's defense budget of 40 billion kroner in order to meet NATO's two percent target this year. Norway's defense budget for 2015 is 1.43 percent of GDP; the FFI calculated that growth in defense spending of 4.4 percent each year is required for ten years in order to reach the NATO target. Defense Ministers who spoke to Norway's VG Nyheter newspaper said they thought it unlikely the target will be met by 2025. When asked if she thought the target would be reached while she is in office, Prime Minister Solberg, who took office in October 2013, replied that the aim would not be met: "I think anyone who knows the Norwegian budget, knows that that's not possible. One way to achieve that goal would be if GDP didn't grow, but that's not our strategy," said the PM.

Of the 28 members of the NATO alliance, only the UK, Poland, Estonia and Greece have joined the US in spending more than two percent of GDP on their defense. The US spends 3.5 percent of GDP on defense. http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150607/1023053186.html Return to Top

The Japan Times – Tokyo, Japan First Test of Raytheon’s New SM-3 Missile a Success, Japan, U.S. say Reuters June 8, 2015 WASHINGTON – The United States and Japan say the first live-fire test of Raytheon Co.’s new Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile, under joint development by the two countries, was a success. Rick Lehner, a spokesman for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, said the test was conducted Saturday from the Point Mugu Sea Range off the coast of California. The SM-3 IIA is a 21-inch variant of an earlier SM-3 missile, which works with the U.S. Aegis combat system built by Lockheed Martin Corp. to destroy incoming ballistic missile threats in space. The project’s cost is estimated at around $2 billion. Riki Ellison, who heads the nonprofit Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said the two countries will spend about $1 billion each to design, test and eventually produce the new missiles, a model for joint weapons development programs. “It is the U.S. Department of Defense’s best case of equal funding and engineering shared with an allied country to develop and . . . field a new weapon system to better enhance the national security of both nations,” Ellison said in a statement. Raytheon said the new SM-3 IIA missile has bigger rocket motors and a more capable kill vehicle that will allow the missile to engage threats sooner and protect larger regions from short- to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats. Saturday’s test evaluated the performance of the missile’s nose cone, steering control and the separation of its booster, and second and third stages. No intercept was planned, and no target missile was launched, U.S. and company officials said. “The success of this test keeps the program on track for a 2018 deployment at sea and ashore,” said Taylor Lawrence, president of Raytheon’s missile systems business.

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama

Ellison said three more years of testing are planned for the missile before it was put to use on U.S. Navy Aegis ships, Japan’s Kongo-class ships, and at land-based Aegis Ashore sites in Poland and Romania. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/06/08/national/first-test-raytheons-new-sm-3-missile- success-japan-u-s-say/#.VXiUpyyD5Dx Return to Top

Sputnik International – Russian Information Agency US to Sell $1.9Bln Aegis Missile Defense Systems to South Korea The US State Department has approved a possible sale of Aegis ballistic missile defense systems and other military equipment to South Korea in the amount of $1.9 billion, US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a press release on Tuesday. 9 June 2015 WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — DSCA explained the proposed sale of the Aegis missile systems will enhance the US foreign policy and national security. Moreover, it will enhance the capabilities of South Korea’s naval ships to defend against possible aggression and protect communication lines, it said. DSCA also stated the sale will not alter the basic military balance in the Pacific or have an adverse impact on US defense readiness. “The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Republic of Korea for Aegis Combat Systems and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for an estimated cost of $1.91 billion,” the press release said. In March 2015, US defense contractors and South Korea signed two major deals for Stinger missiles and air-to-air launchers for Apache helicopters. US defense contractors also signed a $769 million contract to upgrade the South Korea’s Patriot advanced missile defense system. China and Russia have expressed concerns that deploying US missile defense systems in the Pacific threatens their security. China specifically objected, saying the Aegis ballistic missile defense systems could jeopardize its strategic deterrent. http://sputniknews.com/military/20150609/1023149042.html Return to Top

Sputnik International – Russian information Agency

Choo, Choo! Russia Reviving Elusive ‘Nuke Trains' With 30 Yars ICBMs Russia finalized the project of a new Combat Railway Missile Complex (BZhRK) that will multiply its nuclear potential and counter the US Conventional Prompt Global Strike, RG.ru reported. 6 June 2015 The two superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States of America, chose different structures for their nuclear arsenals. Washington gave preference to ballistic missile submarines as the basis of the US Strategic Nuclear Forces. Moreover, the West managed to cover the global ocean with acoustic stations that tracked the movement of Soviet subs. Soviet subs tried every evasion trick and sometimes emerged in much unexpected places, but it was still insufficient to keep secrecy. Therefore launch silos remained the core of the Soviet Union's Strategic Missile Forces (SMF). As time passed, the Pioneer and Topol-M mobile complexes entered service, but they could hardly be called ‘invisible'. In 1987, the USSR decided to place its missiles on railways, taking the advantage of its giant and multipath railroad network, in which a train could hide from satellite reconnaissance. Each of the 12 Soviet ‘nuke trains' was armed with three RT-23 Molodets (SS-24 Scalpel) intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) carrying 10 warheads. The trains looked like refrigerator cars from the space. Russia completely decommissioned these trains in 2007 in accordance with the START II treaty. The new project, codenamed "Barguzin" after a strong Baikal wind, is not subjected to the treaty and surpasses its predecessors in capabilities. Every "Barguzin" train will be armed with six ICBMs RS-24 Yars (a land equivalent of the submarine-launched Bulava). The new "nuke train" is similar to a nuclear-capable submarine in its function. The cars are so hard that they can resist an explosion of a nuclear warhead just several hundred meters away. A train can run for a month autonomously and pass up to 1,000 kilometers daily. The missiles are brought into firing position within minutes. Their engagement range is 10,000 kilometers and precision is 100 meters around the target. The warheads can maneuver to penetrate any existing missile defense system. The trains will be protected with a cutting-edge stealth technology, electronic warfare systems and counterterrorism measures. Five "Barguzin" regiments are expected to enter Russia's SMF by 2020. http://sputniknews.com/military/20150606/1023027838.html Return to Top

TASS Russian News Agency – Moscow, Russia

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama Russia Does Not Intend to Breach Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty — Lavrov The Russian foreign minister said Moscow thinks a number of actions the US takes, including in the framework of deploying the global missile defense system, directly violate the INF Treaty June 09, 2015 MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. US actions in the framework of global missile defense system directly violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists on Tuesday. "Precisely considering the INF Treaty, our American colleagues have long been asking questions on how responsibly we implement the document," Lavrov said. "We answer that there is a mechanism of Russian-American consultations on reviewing the agreement and possible complaints. We asked the Americans to formulate precisely their complaints and concerns about the Russian Federation," he noted. The foreign minister said he regrets the fact that over the two rounds of consultations, US failed to specify their suspicions neither at the level of preparations nor during the consultations themselves. "They only say, ‘You test-launched a rocket, you know what we are talking about’," he continued. "But this not a serious talk. We will be ready to consider concrete evidence that gives Americans grounds to think that we violated something," Lavrov stressed. "We have formulated our rather concrete questions to the American side that we think that a number of actions it takes, including in the framework of deploying the global missile defense system, directly violate the INF Treaty," Lavrov said. "I still confirm this officially. We are open for an honest, but specific, not unsubstantiated dialogue in order to remove any concerns," Lavrov stressed. "We do not have any intentions to break this agreement," he added. US militarist rhetoric ‘counterproductive’ The minister called the US rhetoric counterproductive and harmful. Lavrov commented on the statement of US General Martin Dempsey on Washington's plans to deploy its cruise and ballistic missiles in Europe and Asia that might be targeted against Russia. "We hear these statements and we study them, and here it is very important to understand what he meant in particular as sometimes these statements are taken out of context," Lavrov said. Lavrov stressed that these issues are "too serious to react off the top of one's head." "In principle, we believe it is absolutely counterproductive and harmful to build up militarist rhetoric, moreover that all our partners say unanimously that they do not want the return of the Cold War time," he said. "If this is so in fact, then one should be probably more careful when saying," Lavrov said. Lavrov said there are concerns about issues related to military construction and these concerns are always addressed and they need to be solved further through a "direct and frank dialogue," the minister said.

"We had these opportunities with all our Western partners both in a bilateral framework and in the framework of the NATO-Russia Council," he reminded. These communication channels were frozen not due to Moscow’s fault but upon the initiative of the Western partners, including those in the 2 plus 2 format, when foreign ministers and defence ministers met, Lavrov said. US statements on Russia's INF treaty breach used as excuse for own breaches Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly antonov on Tuesday said the United States keeps alleging Russia is in breach of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Force treaty in order to excuse its own steps Washington presents as retaliatory. "One has the impression the United States is making a fuss about alleged Russian violations to create a pretext for implementing its own, ostensibly retaliatory military steps, expected to assert US leadership in resisting a Russian military threat - a myth Washington keeps inflating in defiance of obvious facts," Antonov said. He remarked that the Russian Defense Ministry had taken note of the timing of the media leaks with calls for joint actions by the United States and its allies to compensate for Russia’s alleged violations of the INF treaty. "These publications were timed for another upsurge in the anti-Russian campaign in the West ahead of the G7 summit meeting and the forthcoming EU summit, which will be discussing the prolongation of anti-Russian sanctions," Antonov said. "We would like to draw the United States’ attention to the extremely dangerous effects for international security and stability this policy regarding the INF treaty might bring about," Antonov said. http://tass.ru/en/russia/799759 Return to Top

Sputnik International – Russian Information Agency US Missiles in Europe Will Render 1987 INF Treaty Null and Void – Moscow US plans to deploy nuclear-capable short- and medium-range missiles in Europe would effectively scrap the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned in a statement on Thursday. 11 June 2015 “It has come to our attention that the United States is mulling a possible response to Russia’s alleged treaty violations, all the way to a potential deployment, in direct vicinity of the Russian borders, of medium- and shorter-range missiles, banned by the provisions of the INF Treaty. If implemented, these plans would effectively scrap the non-deployment regime with all that this implies. We urge the United States to ensure the fullest possible implementation of the INF Treaty,” the statement said.

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty required the United States and the Soviet Union to eliminate and permanently forswear all of their nuclear and conventional ground- launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. The treaty marked the first time the superpowers had agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals, eliminate an entire category of nuclear weapons, and utilize extensive on-site inspections for verification. As a result of the INF Treaty, the United States and the Soviet Union destroyed a total of 2,692 short-, medium-, and intermediate-range missiles by the treaty's implementation deadline of June 1, 1991. Neither Washington nor Moscow now deploys such systems. http://sputniknews.com/russia/20150611/1023217022.html Return to Top

TASS Russian News Agency – Moscow, Russia Moscow Says US Has to Return Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons to National Territory Article 1 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty prohibits nuclear states to transfer control over nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices to anyone directly or indirectly June 11, 2015 MOSCOW, June 11. /TASS/. The so-called joint nuclear missions of the US and its NATO allies seriously violate the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday commenting on the State Department’s latest annual report on arms treaty compliance. "As we know, Article 1 of the NPT prohibits nuclear states to transfer control over nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices to anyone directly or indirectly," the ministry says. Russia has repeatedly told the US partners that "the participation of European non-nuclear NATO member-states in the joint nuclear planning and training them to use nuclear weapons, which includes the use of military aircraft, crews, and airfield infrastructure and ground support services of these states contradicts the spirit and letter of the NPT," the statement reads. However, the US policy "remains unchanged" in this regard, the ministry stresses. "We believe that there is only one solution to this problem, namely to return all non-strategic US weapons to national territory and prohibit their deployment abroad, to eliminate the respective infrastructure allowing the rapid deployment of these weapons, and also to stop exercises related to training and use of nuclear weapons by armed forces personnel of non-nuclear states," it says. http://tass.ru/en/world/800252 Return to Top

Want China Times – Taipei, Taiwan PLA's MIRV-Equipped Missiles may Pose Threat to US Staff Reporter June 6, 2015 As China's missile defense technology develops, the country's anti-ballistic technology has seen a parallel rise, according to Sina's military news web portal. In the Cold War era the US and Russia armed their anti-ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads. The US Sentinel Program and the Soviet A-35 system were the biggest profile anti-ballistic missile systems of the time. Although these two systems could theoretically intercept ballistic missiles, the nuclear warheads would explode over their home territory at a high altitude, leading to irreparable damage. Later, due to a development in missile technology, intercept missiles became more accurate and kinetic energy interceptors (KIE) were introduced. This intercept system was less costly in terms of the threat to the countries' own citizens. Intercontinental missiles were also getting larger and costs were increasing in order to give their nuclear warheads enough power, whereas for anti-ballistic intercept missiles, costs were not as high, which made them more practical and easier to develop. A March 3 article in UK-based IHS Jane's Defence Weekly stated that there may be a new variant of China's DF-31 long-range solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), citing testimony from Cecil D Haney, commander of the United States Strategic Command and images of a Chinese transporter erector launcher (TEL). Haney said while testifying on Feb. 26, that China is "enhancing existing silo-based ICBMs, conducting flight tests of a new mobile missile and developing a follow- on mobile system capable of carrying multiple warheads," according to the weekly. Previous reports have mentioned the liquid fuelled DF-5A ICBM and nuclear solid-fueled road-mobile DF-41, according to the weekly, but Haney mentioned "a follow-on mobile system capable of carrying multiple warheads," which the magazine believes to be an oblique reference to the DF-31B. Following the adoption of multiple warheads on one missile, there has been a substantial change in the game. Defending against a missile with multiple warheads means intercepting each warhead, which requires multiple intercept missiles, leading to soaring costs. Currently there is not yet an efficient way to intercept this kind of missile, according to the website. There are two main kinds of multiple warhead technology: multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV) and multiple reentry vehicles (MRV). The MIRV is essentially an improved version of the MRV. The warheads on the MIRV can be individually aimed at different targets, whereas the MRV warheads cannot. The China Military Power Report published by the US in 2015 suggests that China's ICBMs already incorporate MIRV technology. This means China has joined the ranks of the US, Russia, the UK and France, to become the fifth country in the world using MIRV technology. According to the CIA, however, China has possessed the technology to develop MIRV technology for 20 years already. China may have already applied MIRV technology to the DF-5A, the DF-31A, the JL-2 second- generation intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missile and the DF-41.

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama The DF-5A missile is 32.6 meters long, with a diameter of 3.35 m and a take-off weight of 183 tonnes, making use of a two-stage liquid-propellant rocket. It has a maximum range of 12,000- 15,000 km (DF-5A), with a 800 m circular error probable (CEP). The DF-5A MIRV would likely have six warheads, with the ability to attack all cities in the US. China currently has 24-36 DF-5A ICBMs, according to estimates cited by the website. The DF-31 has a range of 11,200 km, greater than the DF-31 with its range of 7,200-8,000 km. It weighs 42 tonnes and is 13 m in length, with a diameter of 2.25 m, and is equipped with 3 nuclear warheads. It is normally supposed that the DF-31A is equipped with an MRV, but the latest reports suggest that an MIRV may have been installed in the missile. China is currently replacing its older ICBMs with the DF-31A, there are thought to be about 30 currently in service. The DF-41 is an ICBM with a three-stage solid fuel rocket engine. It has a range of 12,000-14,000 km and weighs 80 tonnes. It is 21 m in length and has a diameter of 2.25 m. It can carry three, six or 10 nuclear warheads and it is also thought to be equipped with MIRV technology. The DF-41 has a top speed of MACH 25, and a 100-200 m CEP. It is expected to enter service this year. The JL-2 is a second-generation ICBM with a range of 7,400-8,000 km. It is carried on China's new Type-094 Jin-class nuclear submarine. The JL-2 is supposedly the submarine-launched version of the DF-31, but the DF-31 is too large to be able to fit on a Type-094 submarine, so it is more likely that the two share a similar technological origin. The JL-2, if equipped with MIRV technology, could fire 3-6 nuclear warheads. http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20150606000144&cid=1101 Return to Top

The Washington Times – Washington, D.C. Russian Bomber Flights Buzzing U.S. Airspace Doubled Last Year U.S. jets scrambling more frequently as experts see implied warning on Ukraine By Jeffrey Scott Shapiro, The Washington Times Sunday, June 7, 2015 The number of long-range Russian strategic bomber flights that buzzed U.S. airspace doubled last year from their norm, forcing American jets to frequently scramble and capturing the attention of hawks in Congress who believe the Kremlin is sending a veiled warning to President Obama to keep out of its affairs in Ukraine. Russian bombers intruded into the U.S. Air Defense Identification Zone — a transition area around U.S. airspace where the U.S. does not claim sovereignty but keeps close watch — at least 10 times in 2014, double the average of five incursions a year dating to 2006, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, known as NORAD. The Air Force monitors for such incursions and requests information from all aircraft entering the Air Defense Identification Zone, and the Navy patrols the oceanic Exclusive Economic Zone below, a 200-mile buffer to the territorial sea. “We saw last year both an increase in their frequency as well an expansion of the areas where they flew. While these flights are ostensibly for training, they are also clearly intended to message to us,” Adm. William Gortney, the commander of NORAD, told The Washington Times.

Rep. Michael K. Conaway, a Texas Republican who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, said he believes the Kremlin’s message is crystal-clear and that it ultimately could trigger a dangerous response. “On a tactical level, this is a pattern that shows they’re testing our responses to see what we’re doing and how we do it,” he said. “They’re very provocative, they’re subject to miscommunication, and some event could happen that no one wants. “So why do the Russians continue to do it? I think they’re rattling sabers in a sense. I think this is definitely coming from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. They’re flexing their muscles, they’re trying to reclaim the superpower status that Putin has always wanted to. It’s a great concern, it’s dangerous and it’s provocative. There’s no good that can come from it, and it needs to stop,” Rep. Conaway said. A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to repeated requests seeking comment. The Russian bombers also have entered the buffer zones around other NATO allies. In all, The Times identified from public reports at least two dozen incidents since 2012 in which a Russian bomber buzzed U.S. or other NATO airspace. Such aerial incursions were common during the Cold War era of the Soviet Union but became almost nonexistent until 2006, when they resumed under the leadership of Mr. Putin. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said there were on average about five such incidents per year within the American Air Defense Identification Zone, but that spiked in 2014. “It was a fairly steady clip and then last year there was a big spike, which coincided with Russia’s incursion into Ukraine,” Capt. Davis said in an interview. “The flights tend to be seasonal — they usually stand down in the winter, gear up in the spring and in the summer and then wind down in the fall — so we don’t know what it’s going to be this year. The jury’s still out since summer just started.” Gen. Michael V. Hayden, a retired four-star Air Force general and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, said the flights present a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States and threaten to damage U.S.-Russian relations. “There is something both dangerous and pathetic about these Russian actions. Dangerous, in the sense that accidents and missteps happen and these kinds of provocations can lead to unwanted confrontations. Pathetic, in the sense that they are a faint reflection of Soviet power of decades past,” Mr. Hayden said. “Tickling NATO airspace with a ‘Bear’ bomber was tough-looking perhaps in the 1960s. Now it is simply a reminder that Putin’s current tools of power — nuclear weapons, the veto at the U.N. and these bomber missions — are the detritus of a bygone era, not evidence of a resurgent Russian state,” he said. The Pentagon makes public only incidents in which American military aircraft intercept Russian bombers. Last year, the U.S. acknowledged several aerial incursions, including incidents off the coasts of Alaska, California, Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. In August, four Russian bombers came

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama within 50 miles of the California coast and illegally flew directly into airspace of NATO allies Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden. In many cases, Russia has sent ‘Tu-95 Bear H’ bombers, which are powered by four turbo- propellers and are capable of carrying nuclear cruise missiles and electronic warfare gear. The planes have a range of about 9,400 miles without refueling, but sometimes fly alongside IL-78 aerial refueling tankers. David Satter, a Moscow correspondent who in 2013 became the first American expelled from Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, said the flights are extensions of the Kremlin’s tactics to try to manipulate public opinion in the U.S. “They’re trying to affect the atmosphere and political dialogue in the United States by making people reluctant to challenge them over Ukraine, reminding us that they have nuclear weapons, that they are unpredictable and that they don’t play by the rules.” Mr. Satter said. “These close- range military flights are a way good way of doing that because Americans will respond by being cautious, and by not doing the maximum to resist their aggression,” Mr. Satter said. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/7/russian-bomber-flights-buzzing-us- airspace-doubled/?page=all#! Return to Top

Sputnik International – Russian Information Agency Terrorists May Use Commercial Drones for Chemical, Biological Attacks Commercial drones and drones used for hobby could increasingly be weaponized to carry out chemical, biological or kamikaze-style attacks, according to a Center for a New American Security report published on Wednesday. 11 June 2015 WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The report noted the proliferation of drones and advances in technology present a unique dilemma to US national security as both state- and non-state actors will gain potentially deadly access to inexpensive drones. “Over time, hobbyist drone capabilities will become increasingly accessible to non-state actors and individuals and increasingly sophisticated — ultimately approaching currently available small military-grade capabilities.” As sales of drones used for hobby increase, the report said, there like will be a reduction in cost and increase in drone capabilities. “This development will in turn grant individuals and non-state actors – particularly those without existing state patrons — unprecedented access to highly advanced technologies,” which can be used for surveillance or be weaponized. “Even without missiles or releasable bombs, drones can be used as cheap precision-guided weapons to disperse chemical or biological payloads or simply to strike targets with explosives.” If used in large numbers, non-state actors could also use inexpensive hobby drones in massive “attacks against government, military and civilian targets.” Drones are generally divided in four categories — small hobby drones, commercial drones, large military drones and stealth military drones.

Military drones are exclusive to states, but the purchase of hobby drones and commercial drones is unregulated. A hobby drone can be purchased for anywhere from $100 to a few thousand dollars. The Center for a New American Security is a Washington, DC-based think tank. The Center’s mission is to help develop pragmatic and principled US national security and defense policies, according to the organization’s website. http://sputniknews.com/military/20150611/1023198028.html Return to Top

The Korea Herald – Seoul, South Korea U.S. Believes N. Korea Has Secret Nuclear Facilities June 08, 2015 North Korea is believed to have secret nuclear facilities unknown to the outside world in addition to those at the country's main Yongbyon nuclear complex, the State Department said in a report. The department's 2015 Report on Adherence to and Compliance With Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments also said that Pyongyang appears to have no intention to comply with its denuclearization commitments. The Yongbyon complex houses the North's 5-megawatt reactor and other facilities that have provided the communist regime with weapons-grade plutonium, with which the regime has conducted three nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013. The North also has a light water reactor under construction and uranium enrichment facilities at the complex that could provide the country with a second source of fissile material that can be used in building nuclear bombs. In addition to these facilities at Yongbyon, the communist nation has long been suspected of running clandestine nuclear facilities in other parts of the country, such as additional uranium enrichment facilities.

"The United States believes there is a clear likelihood of additional unidentified nuclear facilities in the DPRK," the State Department report said, referring to the North by its official name: Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The report also noted that the North restarted the 5-megawatt reactor in 2013 and that the light water reactor under construction could give the North "a justification to possess uranium enrichment technology that could potentially be used to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons." "The United States consistently urged North Korea to respond to diplomatic efforts to create the conditions necessary for the resumption of the six-party talks, premised on a demonstrated DPRK commitment to make meaningful progress toward denuclearization," the report said.

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama "DPRK statements and activities during the reporting period did not signal any intention or commitment to denuclearization." (Yonhap) http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20150608000238 Return to Top

The Washington Free Beacon – Washington, D.C. China Conducts Fourth Test of Wu-14 Strike Vehicle ‘Extreme maneuvers’ used in latest high-speed warhead test By Bill Gertz June 11, 2015 China this week carried out the fourth test of an ultra high-speed nuclear delivery vehicle that conducted what intelligence officials say were extreme maneuvers. The test of the Wu-14 hypersonic strike vehicle was carried out Sunday, launched atop a ballistic missile fired from a test facility in western China. It was the fourth successful test of the Wu-14 in the past 18 months and the frequency of tests is being viewed by U.S. intelligence analysts as an indicator of the high priority placed on developing the weapon by the Chinese. Earlier tests took place last year on Jan. 9, Aug. 7, and Dec. 2. The Washington Free Beacon first reported the tests. The new strike vehicle is considered a high-technology strategic weapon capable of delivering nuclear or conventional warheads while traveling on the edge of space. One of its key features is the ability to maneuver to avoid U.S. missile defenses. The Wu-14 was assessed as traveling up to 10 times the speed of sound, or around 7,680 miles per hour. Unlike earlier tests, the latest test demonstrated what one official called “extreme maneuvers” that appeared to analysts designed for penetrating through missile defense systems. Current U.S. missile defenses are limited to knocking out missiles and their warheads with predictable ballistic trajectories that can be tracked with relative ease by satellite sensors and ground and sea radar. However, the Wu-14 threatens to neutralize U.S. strategic missile defenses with the unique capability of flying at ultra high speeds and maneuvering to avoid detection and tracking by radar and missile defense interceptors. The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency has repeatedly declined to comment on whether current U.S. missile defenses can defeat maneuvering targets. A congressional China commission stated in a report published in November that China is working on hypersonic arms as “a core component of its next-generation precision strike capability.” “Hypersonic glide vehicles could render existing U.S. missile defense systems less effective and potentially obsolete,” the report said.

In addition to the glide vehicle, China also is developing a second hypersonic weapon the uses a high-technology scramjet engine. The Pentagon and China’s defense ministry confirmed the earlier tests. Asked about the latest test, however, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jeff Pool declined to comment on the test, citing a policy of not discussing intelligence matters. However, specialists on China’s military buildup say the latest test is another significant milestone for Chinese long-range strike capabilities. “With four tests in about a year and a half, it is possible that China could conclude development of an early version for deployment in one to two years,” said Rick Fisher, a China expert with the International Assessment and Strategy Center. Former Pentagon official Mark Stokes, also a China weapons specialist, said the People’s Liberation Army and China’s space and missile industry have been conducting engineering design work on a boosted hypersonic glide vehicle for some time. “Certification of the design requires prototype testing of the post boost vehicle, which is probably what’s going on,” said Stokes, now with the Project 2049 Institute, a think tank. “Fielding of a hypersonic glide vehicle would advance the PLA’s ability to hold U.S. targets at risk, as well as those of allies and partners,” Stokes added. Lora Saalman, a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, the latest Wu-14 test indicates the weapon is a high priority. “This test is keeping in line with China’s fast-tracking of this program and efforts to expand not just the range but also the capabilities and maneuverability of the system,” she said. Fisher said he suspects an early version of the Wu-14 will be launched atop a DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile, although in the future it would be carried by the 2,485-mile range DF-26. “Perhaps the most important U.S. antidote for China’s hypersonic maneuvering warhead is U.S. energy weapons programs,” Fisher said. “There is an urgent need to increase funding to accelerate the early deployment of rail gun weapons.” Rail guns fire shotgun-style pellets at hypersonic speeds that create pellet clouds that can be used to damage or destroy Chinese hypersonic warheads. “It is urgent that the U.S. speed the deployment of rail guns to defend aircraft carriers, large combat ships, and major U.S. military facilities in Asia,” he said. “The U.S. also needs to accelerate the development of its own hypersonic weapons, ground, air, and sea-launched, to deter China’s use of these weapons.” The current House version of the fiscal 2016 defense authorization bill calls for the Pentagon to conduct advanced technology war games, including those involving hypersonic strike systems. The bill includes $291 million for an extended-range variant of Army’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile defense system to deal with hypersonic threats.

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama “The committee is aware of the rapidly evolving threat from potential adversaries’ development of hypersonic weapons,” the report on the bill says, noting China’s several recent tests. “The [Armed Services] committee believes this rapidly emerging capability could be a threat to national security and our operational forces,” the report said. The Army has conducted two tests of its Advanced Hypersonic Weapon and in the latest test the missile launcher blew up shortly after liftoff. The committee called on the military to develop hypersonic targets to improve U.S. defenses. A Chinese Embassy spokesman did not return an email seeking comment. In the past, China’s government has called the hypersonic tests normal military experiments. http://freebeacon.com/national-security/china-conducts-fourth-test-of-wu-14-strike-vehicle/ Return to Top

The Moscow Times – Moscow, Russia Russia Plans Bigger, Badder Version of Tu-160 Supersonic Bomber By Matthew Bodner June 07, 2015 Russia will relaunch assembly of the massive Soviet-designed Tu-160 supersonic strategic bomber after 2023, a Russian defense official said, raising questions over the fate of a next-generation bomber program that was meant to enter production around the same time. But although the Soviet design will be resuscitated, the bomber's innards will be upgraded, Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov, who is responsible for weapons procurement, said late last week, news agency RIA Novosti reported. "This will be essentially a new airplane, not a Tu-160 but a Tu-160M2," he said. "According to the plans, this will most likely happen sometime after 2023." The announcement comes as Russia aggressively ramps up defense spending under President Vladimir Putin, who has sought to restore the country's military power following years of low funding. After Moscow's annexation of Crimea last year sparked a confrontation with the West over Ukraine, Russian bomber patrols, including Tu-160s, have repeatedly flown along European airspace. The Tu-160 was the last bomber designed and built by the Soviet Union. It is a supersonic swept- wing aircraft designed to deliver nuclear weapons to distant targets. Only 15 were produced before the fall of the U.S.S.R., and one produced in the early 1990s. Since then, some of the existing planes have been modernized, but the Tu-160 production lines at the Kazan Aviation Plant have been silent. Russian military officials had said recently the airplane — dubbed "the White Swan" by the Russian air force and Blackjack by NATO — would go back into production, but have been vague about the launch date. Last week, the commander in chief of the Russian air force, Viktor Bondarev, said that the Defense Ministry would purchase at least 50 of the new Tu-160s after production is restarted, RIA reported.

The timing of the Tu-160's revival raises questions about Russia's commitment to the PAK DA program, a Defense Ministry project to create a brand-new next-generation strategic bomber. Officials have said the plane would begin rolling off production lines around 2023. The PAK DA was billed as a replacement for the Soviet-built Tu-160s. Bondarev said last week that production of the new Tu-160s would go hand in hand with production of the new bomber, but committing to both projects would be costly. With Russia's oil-dependent economy in crisis and economists expecting a sluggish recovery, the country's ability to finance ambitious defense projects may weaken. United Aircraft Corporation, the state-owned aviation industry conglomerate that would be responsible for building the airframes of both aircraft, declined to comment on the status of either project. Increased defense spending is already boosting Russia's air power. The country's fleet of 130 MiG- 31 supersonic bomber interceptors are being upgraded, and the air force said in December it would receive 150 new airplanes and helicopters in 2015. This order includes bulk buys of Su-30 multirole fighters, MiG-29s air superiority fighters, Su-24 fighter bombers, and Su-35 fighters — all part of Russia's front-line aircraft fleet. The air force is currently modernizing the 16 old Tu-160s already in service with new engines and electronics, but Borisov said the Tu-160M2 would feature "new performance characteristics and new features," such as digital electronics allowing for "completely new possibilities." Maxim Kuzyuk, the CEO of Technodinamika, a Russian state-owned aviation components holding, declined to comment on the status of the Tu-160M2 project, but said the company is ready to produce components for the planes if the orders are made. "The holding produces a wide range of systems and components for Tu-160s," Kuzyuk said. "We are ready to resume production of the landing gears for this aircraft [and] can continue production of these systems and components, or develop new systems, as well as an [auxiliary power unit], if this task is set," he added. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/russia-plans-bigger-badder-version-of-tu- 160-supersonic-bomber/523221.html Return to Top

Deutsche Welle (DW) – Bonn, Germany Russia Grounds Tu-95 Bombers after Engine Fire Russia has grounded its Tupolev long-range bombers after one caught fire and ran off the runway during training, according to the Defense Ministry. The plane, able to carry nuclear missiles, had no ammunition on board. 08 June 2015 At least five Russian servicemen were injured on Monday during a failed takeoff of a Tu-95 bomber in the Amur region, some 9,000 kilometers (about 5,600 miles) east of Moscow.

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama "According to information from the scene, several crew members received injuries of varying degree while leaving the plane and were hospitalized," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. Doctors specialized in burn treatment have been dispatched to help the military staff, according to the Interfax news agency. Preliminary reports indicate that the accident was caused by an engine fire on the propeller- powered plane. Tupolevs grounded The Russian bomber plane Tu-95, known among NATO forces as "the Bear" is a strategic bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons and cruise missiles. Different versions of the aircraft have been an essential part of Kremlin air power for decades, with early models conducting long-range patrols in the 1950s. The Russian air force has decided to suspend Tu-95 flights pending investigation of Monday's incident, officials said. The news of the engine fire comes only days after two Russian military planes malfunctioned during separate training missions. Last Thursday, two pilots were forced to eject from a MiG 29 and were hospitalized, prompting Russian authorities to ground the fighter planes pending investigation. Later on the same day, a Su- 34 bomber skidded off the runway and rolled over after the brake parachute malfunctioned. The crew was not injured. (dpa, AP, Interfax) http://www.dw.de/russia-grounds-tu-95-bombers-after-engine-fire/a-18504097 Return to Top

TASS Russian News Agency – Moscow, Russia Russia Successfully Test-Launches Defense Shield Anti-Missile — Ministry The launch was aimed at confirming the performance characteristics of missile defense shield anti- missiles operational in the Aerospace Defense Forces June 09, 2015 MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. Russia’s Aerospace Defense Forces have successfully test-launched a short-range anti-missile of the country’s missile defense shield, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. "The launch was aimed at confirming the performance characteristics of missile defense shield anti- missiles operational in the Aerospace Defense Forces," the ministry said. Aerospace Defense Forces Deputy Commander, Lieu.Gen. Sergey Lobov who arrived at the firing range to control the launch preparations and the test-launch said that "during the tests that were held, an anti-missile of the missile defense shield successfully accomplished its task and destroyed a simulated target at the designated time."

The launch was carried out by a joint crew of the Sary-Shagan test site, Aerospace Defense Force and manufacturer’s specialists at 11:32 Moscow time, the Defense Ministry said. According to the Defense Ministry, Russia’s Aerospace Defense Forces have major technical and technological potential in the field of developing and applying aerospace defence means. "Within the framework of developing and perfecting Russian missile defense components the system’s information means undergo upgrade. Simultaneously, research and development work is in progress to create new generation anti-missile weapons, which would allow for considerably expanding the Aerospace Defense Forces' combat capabilities," the ministry’s press-service said. The ministry also said that the Russian aerospace defense system ensured guaranteed protection from strategic missiles of a new generation with post-boost vehicles and a large number of warheads, the newest penetration means, including chaff containers, active jamming stations and heavy and light deception targets of different classes. http://tass.ru/en/russia/799703 Return to Top

TASS Russian News Agency – Moscow, Russia Russia Developing Upgraded Version of Oka Tactical Missile System — Defense Ministry The Oka system had a range of 400 km (248.5 miles) and, consequently, was excluded from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) but was nonetheless scrapped under the treaty June 10, 2015 MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. Russia is developing an upgraded version of the Oka tactical missile system (NATO reporting name: SS-23 Spider) scrapped under the INF Treaty, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said on Wednesday. "There is no need in restoring the old system. We’re developing a new complex," Borisov said, adding the new missile system would be based on the Oka principle. Present-day technologies allow for improving the system’s range and accuracy characteristics, the deputy defense minister said. The OTR-23 Oka tactical ballistic missile system entered service in the Soviet Army in 1983. According to military experts, the Oka complexes made the US newest Patriot air defense missile systems completely ineffective at that time. The Oka system had a range of 400 km (248.5 miles) and, consequently, was excluded from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) but was nonetheless scrapped under the treaty. The INF Treaty signed between the Soviet Union and the United States in 1987 stipulated the elimination of all ground-based ballistic missiles with the shorter ranges of between 500 and 1,000 km and the intermediate ranges of between 1,000 and 5,000 km.

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama The disposal of the ballistic missiles under the INF Treaty ended in 1991 and Russia and the United States completed their inspections in 2001. The Soviet Union eliminated over 200 Oka missiles and 102 launchers. http://tass.ru/en/russia/800059 Return to Top

Sputnik International – Russian Information Agency US Secret Military Biolabs at Russian Border Arouse Grave Concern - Moscow Washington is trying to conceal the work of its military medical-biological facilities located close to the Russian borders. 11 June 2015 MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Moscow is extremely concerned over the US deployment of medical- biological laboratories near the Russian border, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday. “The Pentagon’s activity of placing its medical-biological laboratories extremely close to Russian borders calls for grave concern.” The Foreign Ministry said that the US Richard G. Lugar Public Health Research Center in Tbilisi, Georgia, is a high level biological isolation laboratory. The laboratory is overseen by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Moscow says that a branch of the Walter Reed US Army Medical Research Institute is operating under the Lugar Research Center’s roof. “The US and Georgian authorities are taking efforts to cover the true contents and direction of their activity in the US Army’s military branch, which is studying especially dangerous and infectious diseases. The Pentagon is trying to camouflage its military medical-biological facilities in other CIS countries,” the statement continues. The activities of Pentagon in the spheres linked directly to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) are being carried out amid the “obvious lack of interest” from Washington toward strengthening this convention, the ministry said. It was the United States that in 2001 “unilaterally wrecked the Geneva multilateral talks” that were aimed at creating a verification mechanism for the BTWC and has since then created every obstacle for their resumption, the statement noted. The BTWC prohibits the development, production, and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons. The document was opened for signing in 1972 and currently has 173 signatories. The convention has no formal verification procedure that would allow monitoring the adherence to its provisions. http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150611/1023214713.html Return to Top

Mehr News Agency – Tehran, Iran 'It Is Reality We Do Not Trust West' Saturday, 06 June 2015 TEHRAN, Jun. 06 (MNA) – Iran’s senior nuclear negotiator has said nuclear negotiations with the west are making progress very sluggishly. Seyed Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Vienna just before departing the city that the issue of rolling back to previous sanctions regime was an important issue both sides had considered; “we came to the negotiations here in Vienna with distrust, and that is a fact; we do not trust the western negotiators at all; they do not trust us either; thus we working on an arrangement to allow both sides to withdraw and return to status quo ante should it felt the other side violated its commitments,” Araghchi told the press in Vienna. He also said that Iranian negotiators had predicted for necessary measures to roll back to status quo ante, and that the western negotiators ‘definitely’ would have such measures in their repertoire of possible responses. Araghchi who was in Vienna for two hectic days of nuclear negotiations, told the press that deputy- level session brought all deputies of the 5+1 and of Iran together, and this was apart from bilateral meetings with delegations from Russia, China, and the European triad + Germany and the US, which was a review of what had been agreed as solutions in Lausanne, Switzerland. “Any final deal will have a main draft, with predicted five appendices to that; the first appendix will address sanctions, the details, the sanctions to be removed and the possible impact assessment; the other appendix would focus upon technicalities of nuclear program and the decisions made in Lausanne as solutions to be implemented in practice,” detailed the nuclear negotiator, “a third appendix would cover peaceful nuclear cooperation with Iran and the fields these countries would have necessary permits to cooperate,” Araghchi asserted. “In issues regarding light water reactors, research reactors, research and development, nuclear fusion and all other issues will be addressed in this appendix; the last appendix will be on the plan implementation, both sides’ commitments and the timetable,” Araghchi said. “The ultimate piece will be a very comprehensive and well-planned document, amounting to 20 pages of major draft and 40-50 pages of appendices, where all words and phrases used are individually matter of controversial debate, and the draft and appendices is replete with parentheses,” he described the final draft. Araghchi dubbed the act of drafting very slow and strenuous task, which has much legal, technical and political sensitivity; “in technical matters, an issue would be solved, however, still unsolved politically,” he said, adding that the negotiations would definitely continue to the deadline assigned, July 1, 2015. http://en.mehrnews.com/news/107726/It-is-reality-we-do-not-trust-West Return to Top

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) – Tehran, Iran 7 June 2015 Dy FM: Time Limit Not the Case for Comprehensive Nuclear Deal Tehran, June 7, IRNA – Deputy Foreign Minister for Euro-American Affairs said on Sunday that there is no time pressure in nuclear talks to reach a comprehensive agreement. If the other negotiating party not put forward excessive demands, the comprehensive nuclear deal would be achieved by the self-imposed deadline, he added. Majid Takht-e Ravanchi made the remarks in a meeting with Head of European Parliament foreign relations Committee Elmar Brok. He said that exchange of parliamentary delegations with countries and with European Parliament is significant to develop ties and mutual understanding between the governments. Takht-e Ravanchi briefed the MEP on Iranian views about the nuclear dispute. Referring to current trend of talks, Ravanchi said that the two parties need to honor commitment to the agreements. He said that Iran is interested in advances in the nuclear talks and wants to achieve a wise, good and acceptable agreement. He said that Iran and the European Union would develop political, economic and cultural cooperation and that Iran is keen on international cooperation with Europe on campaign against terrorism and extremism. Iran and EU would work together on regional security, commercial exchanges and providing energy. Chairman of EP committee on Foreign Affairs said for his part that EP is willing to develop relations with Iran, terming bilateral ties effective and constructive. Elmar Brok explained EP views on nuclear talks and hoped for settlement of the dispute and reach an understanding in the determined period of time. He called for a new chapter to open in development of all-out relations between Iran and Europe. Elmar Brok and accompanying delegation arrived in Tehran on Saturday for a 2-day visit. http://www.irna.ir/en/News/81637509/ Return to Top

Tasnim News Agency – Tehran, Iran Iran Not to Allow Any Foreign Access to Military Sites: Velayati June 08, 2015 TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran will never let any foreigner have access to its military sites, the head of the Strategic Research Center of Iran's Expediency Council said, referring to the West's call for that kind of access under a possible comprehensive nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

"Visits (by foreigners) to the Islamic Republic's military sites are forbidden on the basis of the Supreme Leader's very specific viewpoints," Ali Akbar Velayati told reporters in Tehran on Monday. "We won't permit any stranger, either American or non-American, to visit the Islamic Republic's military and sensitive centers," he underlined. His remarks came after Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said in May that Iran will not allow the inspection of its military sites. The Supreme Leader ruled out any request for interviews with Tehran’s nuclear scientists, and described it as an instance of "interrogation". "I would not let foreigners come (here) and talk to the Iranian nation’s dear scientists... who have expanded this wide knowledge to this stage," Imam Khamenei explained. Iran and Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) have been negotiating to hammer out a lasting accord that would end more than a decade of impasse over Tehran's peaceful nuclear program. On April 2, the two sides reached a framework nuclear agreement after more than a week of intensive negotiations in Lausanne, Switzerland, with both sides committed to push for a final, comprehensive accord until the end of June. http://www.tasnimnews.com/english/Home/Single/763738 Return to Top

Sputnik International – Russian Information Agency Israel Tests Dirty Bombs to Study Effects of Hypothetical Attack Israel has tested dozens of dirty bombs to measure the effects of a hypothetical attack on its population and the environment, Haaretz newspaper reported in an exclusive piece on Monday. 8 June 2015 MOSCOW (Sputnik) – At least 20 dirty bombs were detonated as part of the so-called "Green Field" project that began in 2010 at the Dimona nuclear reactor in the southern Negev desert, the daily said. The project concluded last year and its findings are reportedly available on nuclear science databases and have been presented at various scientific gatherings. The newspaper cited Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon's warning, in 2013, that Iran is capable of procuring a bomb that combines conventional explosives with radiological material. A dirty bomb is not considered to be a nuclear weapon or a weapon of mass destruction. A project dubbed "Red House" also tested the potential of an unexploded dirty bomb, left in a public setting such as a shopping mall, to emit radiological material. Haaretz cited sources at the nuclear facility as saying that such dispersal of radiological material posed little danger "beyond the psychological effect."

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama Israel is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT), to which 191 countries have signed up, entering into force in 1970. The NPT aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons while promoting the use of civilian nuclear technology. http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150608/1023085033.html Return to Top

The Daily Telegraph – London, U.K. The Saudis Are Ready to Go Nuclear The kingdom’s ambassador to London tells the Telegraph that 'all options are on the table’ if talks fail to keep Iran in check By Con Coughlin 08 June 2015 Since its creation 85 years ago, Saudi Arabia has acquired a reputation as a country that tries to avoid confrontation with its neighbours at all costs. During the long war between Iran and Iraq during the 1980s the Saudis desperately sought to preserve their neutrality, even if Riyadh’s sympathies lay with its fellow Sunni co-religionists in Iraq rather than the Shi’ite Muslim hardliners running Iran. Similarly, Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the two Gulf wars against Saddam Hussein was kept to a minimum. Saudi warplanes made a modest contribution to the overall air campaign during the 1991 liberation of Kuwait, while Riyadh steadfastly refused to involve itself in the 2003 Iraq war. In other conflicts affecting the region, such as the Palestinian intifada, the Saudis have preferred to channel their immense oil wealth in support of Arab allies rather than become directly involved in the strife. But then this year came Saudi Arabia’s dramatic military intervention in neighbouring Yemen. Saudi warplanes and troops are now involved in a bitter conflict with Iranian-backed rebels from the Houthi religious movement in Yemen. And Saudi Arabia has been confirmed as one of the region’s dominant military powers. In the past two years, it has beaten Britain into fourth place in the world’s military spending league with a defence budget of around £37 billion (compared with the UK at around £34 billion). The military offensive in Yemen has seen Saudi Arabia deploy an estimated 150,000 troops – nearly twice the size of the British Army – while Saudi fighter jets, many of them British-made, have flown thousands of sorties. Now the Saudis have raised the alarming prospect of the Middle East becoming embroiled in a nuclear arms race after the country’s blunt warning that “all options are on the table” if Iran fails to resolve the international stand-off over its nuclear programme. Prince Mohammed bin Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Saudi Arabia’s long-serving ambassador to London, says that for many years the kingdom upheld the policy established by the late King Fahd that Riyadh would not pursue a policy of developing nuclear weapons. “Then it became known that Iran was pursuing a policy that could be shifted to a weapons-of-mass-destruction programme,” Prince Mohammed explained in an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph. “This has changed the whole outlook in the region.”

Like many in the Arab world and beyond, the Saudis are hoping the current negotiations with Iran on the nuclear issue, being led by US President Barack Obama, will provide assurances that Tehran does not possess the means to build an atom bomb. “We have always expressed our support for resolving the Iranian nuclear file in a diplomatic way and through negotiation,” said Prince Mohammed. “We commend the American president’s effort in this regard, provided that any deal reached is watertight and is not the kind of deal that offers Iran a licence to continue its destabilising foreign policies in the region. The proof is in the pudding.” Negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 – the US, the UK, France, China and Russia (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council) and Germany – are due to be concluded by the end of this month. Negotiators are pressing Tehran to freeze key elements of its uranium-enrichment cycle – which can be used to produce nuclear warheads – in return for easing the sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy. Despite attempts lasting more than a decade to resolve the issue, Iran has yet to make any significant concessions on its nuclear programme. The New York Times reported last week that Tehran’s stockpile of nuclear fuel had increased by 20 per cent in the past 18 months. That would make a nonsense of the Obama administration’s contention that Iran had frozen its enrichment operations for the duration of the negotiations. Consequently, there are fears in Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states that Mr Obama is more interested in reaching an accommodation with reformists in Iran than in standing by America’s traditional allies in the Arab world. Prince Mohammed, who is a senior member of the Saudi ruling family, insists the negotiations must produce serious commitments from Iran not to produce nuclear weapons. “We hope we receive the assurances that guarantee Iran will not pursue this kind of weapon,” he said. “But if this does not happen, then all options will be on the table for Saudi Arabia. “Iran’s nuclear programme poses a direct threat to the entire region and constitutes a major source and incentive for nuclear proliferation across the Middle East, including Israel.” Western intelligence agencies believe that the Saudi monarchy paid for up to 60 per cent of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, in return for the ability to buy warheads for itself at short notice. Any failure by Iran to provide the necessary safeguards by the end of this month could see Riyadh activate that deal, thereby enabling Saudi Arabia to become the Arab world’s first nuclear power. And if that were to happen, then many other regional powers, such as Egypt and Turkey, would also attempt to follow suit – a nuclear arms race in the world’s most unstable region. Prince Mohammed’s comments should serve as a warning to Mr Obama as he briefs other G7 leaders on the Iran talks at this week’s summit in Germany. From Saudi Arabia’s perspective, though, Prince Mohammed believes Riyadh has every right to be alarmed at the prospect of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, particularly in the light of its involvement in supporting the Houthis to overthrow Yemen’s government. “The Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, set about taking over Sanaa and then attempting to takeover Aden,” he said. “The reason air strikes became necessary was to reverse that advance and keep the road open for a political solution. “All the evidence supports the fact that Iran is using the Houthis as warring agents for them to transform Yemen into a springboard for the delusional hegemonic designs in the Arab world.”

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama He played down suggestions that, equipped with its new military might, his country had its own plans for regional domination. “Saudi Arabia does not have the same ambitions for the region as others do,” he said in a reference to Iran. “All we care for is the preservation of our stability and security, and that of the Arab and Muslim worlds.” The ambassador also expressed his concern about suggestions that Britain was playing a less prominent role in world affairs. Last week Ashton Carter, the US defence secretary, warned against what he called Britain’s “disengagement” from world affairs in the wake of the recent defence cuts. Prince Mohammed warned that this could have negative repercussions, particularly in the Middle East. “The perception that Britain is withdrawing from the international stage could have a negative impact,” he said. “Britain has played a historical role in the region due to its colonial past. It knows the Arab world very well and it can still have a pivotal positive role. To see a country like Britain no longer playing a central role in the region will have ramifications that are not positive.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/saudiarabia/11658338/The-Saudis- are-ready-to-go-nuclear.html Return to Top

The Washington Examiner – Washington, D.C. Iran's Ballistic Missiles Could Derail Nuke Deal By Charles Hoskinson June 8, 2015 As international negotiators work to meet a July 1 deadline for a deal designed to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, Iran's growing missile program threatens to derail the talks. The Obama administration and its partners have agreed to keep discussions of ballistic missiles out of the nuclear talks after Tehran refused to continue them if that issue was not excluded. Administration officials insist, however, that they will press Iran on the issue outside of those discussions. But concerns about the Middle East's largest and most diverse missile arsenal, and North Korea's role in helping Iran develop that arsenal, is a major concern in Congress and among the U.S. public, and could affect support for any nuclear deal. Those concerns focus on Iran's growing ability to use that arsenal to strike not just Israel, but Europe and eventually the United States — an ability that could quickly become critical if Tehran decides to break out of any nuclear deal. "The missile program of Iran is something that never has even seemed to be seriously discussed throughout the course of these negotiations. And it's a very, very significant issue," said Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla. Though the administration has acknowledged the nexus between nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles' ability to deliver them, refusing to discuss Iran's program was a major concession that will represent "one of the biggest strikes against" any deal once it is submitted to Congress, he said. "This agreement is something that I think is going to meet with a lot of stiff resistance in Congress, and one of the reasons should be Iran's missile program," DeSantis said. "Their missile arsenal undermines regional and international security."

Iran's ballistic missile arsenal, initially developed with North Korea's help, has been steadily expanding in size and quality, in spite of the U.N. Security Council's prohibition of the program. That cooperation has continued with the recent visit of North Korean experts to Iran, according to an Iranian exile group that has exposed clandestine elements of that country's nuclear program. State Department officials say they are investigating the allegations, but would not give details. "I don't have more to say on these specific allegations, which we are examining," spokesman Jeff Rathke said on May 28, refusing even to confirm or deny that the allegations have been raised in the nuclear talks. Experts believe that Iran already has developed missiles capable of hitting Europe, and may have intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of hitting the United States by the end of the decade if the program continues to advance. "Missiles are a cost-effective way for a country like Iran to pose an asymmetric threat to much more militarily sophisticated countries like the U.S. and are powerful weapons for coercion; therefore, Iran is motivated to keep and improve its arsenal," Rebecca Heinrichs, of the George C. Marshall Institute, told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee in March. "Iran wants more than a nuclear weapon. Iran wants to be able to credibly threaten its enemies with a nuclear missile," she said. "Any deal focused on Iran's nuclear program must include its missile program." Missiles are not usually considered integral to efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. But the development of intermediate- or long-range ballistic missiles has proven to be an accurate litmus test of a country's nuclear intentions, as with Pakistan or North Korea, said Naval War College professor David Cooper. "Time and again, real-world experience has demonstrated that the long-term time horizons, the vast expense and the international taboo of long-range ballistic missile programs ... really only make economic, political or military sense in the broader context of an ambition to become a nuclear weapons power," he said. "This is arguably the most absolute indicator of whether a state's nuclear programs are peaceful, or are associated with nuclear weapons ambitions," he said. "Iran does say that their nuclear weapons programs are peaceful, but I would argue that the missiles may tell a different story." http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/irans-ballistic-missiles-could-derail-nuke- deal/article/2565549 Return to Top

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama Press TV – Tehran, Iran Iran-P5+1 Deal Will Not Be Permanent: Senior Iranian Negotiator Tuesday, June 9, 2015 A senior Iranian nuclear negotiator has rejected remarks by a US official who has recently said a potential comprehensive deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries will be permanent. Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, who is Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, rejected on Tuesday remarks by US Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken concerning the time frame of the final deal between Iran and the P5+1 – the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany. Blinken had told an audience at the American Jewish Committee’s annual Global Forum in Washington on Monday that the deal between Iran and the six other countries “will not expire and there will not be a so-called sunset.” Araqchi rejected the remark by Blinken as false and said the agreement, if reached, will have a specific time frame, at the end of which the deal will expire. None of the measures envisioned in the accord would be permanent, the Iranian nuclear negotiator said. Araqchi explained, however, that Iran will continue to honor those commitments that it has accepted under international agreements, including the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), as long as it is a signatory to them. He said the remark by the US official is meant for domestic purposes or to appease US allies. Iran and the P5+1 have been negotiating to reach a comprehensive deal by the end of June, a deadline set by the negotiating sides themselves. The two sides have been working on the text of a final deal since they reached mutual understanding on the key parameters of such an agreement in the Swiss city of Lausanne on April 2. Last Saturday, representatives from Iran and the six countries wrapped up their latest round of deputy-level talks aimed at narrowing differences over the final text of the comprehensive deal in Vienna, Austria. http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2015/06/09/415028/Iran-sunset-clause-Araqchi-Blinken Return to Top

The Jerusalem Post – Jerusalem, Israel 'Iran Has No Interest in Nuclear Weapons due to Edict by Khamenei' The remarks were made by Brigadier General Hossein Salami during a defense conference at a Tehran university. By YASSER OKBI/ MAARIV HASHAVUA June 10, 2015 Iran has no interest in pursuing nuclear weapons since obtaining them would be a violation of a religious edict imposed by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a top Revolutionary Guards officer said on Wednesday.

The remarks were made by Brigadier General Hossein Salami during a defense conference at a Tehran university. Salami said that Iran will instead seek to develop its arsenal of precision-guided missiles that minimize civilian casualties. “This edict is a principled, moral position before it is a technical one,” Salami said. Salami said that while the United States “speaks loftily about security and global development, it remains our worst, most vicious enemy.” Salami accused the West of using innovative means to disseminate “inappropriate films” whose goal is to “destroy the world’s moral fabric, which will in turn lead to a collapse of global security.” The deputy commander went on to accuse the West of bolstering their military arsenals all the while combining their might with “diplomatic barbarism.” “They are moving further away from the values of God, which will ultimately lead to their demise,” Salami said. Iran’s enemies lack any appreciation for human life, the officer said. “The gravest threat to Iran today is having its young people being influenced by the ideas and the culture of the enemy,” he said. Salami said that while Iran is working to bolster its military capabilities, it is also making efforts to prevent “foreign influence” from seeping into the country. The next round of Iran nuclear talks will be "pretty tough," a senior US official told reporters on Wednesday ahead of a new round of negotiations including political directors from the seven nations involved. "As we expected after Lausanne, the next portion of this process will be pretty tough because we will be getting down to the details," the official said. Iran and six major powers reached a framework nuclear agreement on April 2 in Lausanne and are seeking to strike a comprehensive deal by June 30. Reuters contributed to this report. http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-has-no-interest-in-nuclear-weapons-due-to-edict-by- Ayatollah-Khamenei-405644 Return to Top

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama The Independent – London, U.K. Isis's Dirty Bomb: Jihadists Have Seized 'Enough Radioactive Material to Build their First WMD' By Adam Withnall Wednesday, 10 June 2015 The Isis militant group has seized enough radioactive material from government facilities to suggest it has the capacity to build a large and devastating “dirty” bomb, according to Australian intelligence reports. Isis declared its ambition to develop weapons of mass destruction in the most recent edition of its propaganda magazine Dabiq, and Indian defence officials have previously warned of the possibility the militants could acquire a nuclear weapon from Pakistan. According to the Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, Nato has expressed deep concerns about the materials seized by Isis from research centres and hospitals that would normally only be available to governments. The threat of Isis’s radioactive and biological weapons stockpile was so severe that the Australia Group, a 40-nation bloc dedicated to ending the use of chemical weapons, held a session on the subject at its summit in Perth last week. “This is really worrying them,” Ms Bishop said in an interview with The Australian. When they swept across territory in Syria and Iraq, she said, “the insurgents did not just clear out the cash from local banks”. Last week Ms Bishop spoke at the Australia Group meeting about fears Isis was weaponising poisonous gases such as chlorine. And speaking to The Australian, she confirmed that the concerns she was raising stemmed from reports filed by the Australian department of defence as well the foreign office. The growing concerns about Isis’s development of weapons of mass destruction come at a time when experts fear the militant group will be “more active than ever” to mark the start of Ramadan and the one-year anniversary of its declaration of a “caliphate”. Isis said it was changing its name to “Islamic State” following the first public address by its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Mosul on 29 June last year, and the US-based Institute for the Study of War has noted that the group usually reserves its major operations to coincide with the Islamic holy month. “Isis is likely to begin and end Ramadan with attempted spectacular military offensive actions in Iraq and Syria,” it said. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isiss-dirty-bomb-jihadists-have-seized- enough-radioactive-material-to-build-their-first-wmd-10309220.html Return to Top

FoxNews.com – New York, NY Iran Satellite Launches Tied to Ballistic Missile Program, UN Experts say By George Russell June 10, 2015 Iran has launched a space satellite using technology that could “contribute to” the development of a ballistic missile capable of delivering nuclear weapons, according to a United Nations-appointed panel of experts monitoring the issue. Tehran intends to launch more such satellites, the panel said. The most recent launch came last February 15, the experts noted, adding that the Iranian government has already announced plans to conduct three additional satellite launches before March 2016. The vehicle used in the February launch—from a military base in northern Iran-- was based on a “space launch vehicle” that is variant of Iran’s Shahab-3 ballistic missile, which has a range of about 1,000 miles. The Shahab-3 is one of two Iranian missiles that the experts say “are believed to be potentially capable of delivery of nuclear weapons.” The experts noted that the future satellites will be boosted aloft “from more powerful launchers and on the back of bigger carriers.” Iran’s missile development—peaceful or not-- is one of the murkier and more contentious issues surrounding the ongoing negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the world’s major powers—precisely because ballistic missiles have been shunted to the side of a potential deal centered on nuclear enrichment activities that the Obama Administration is pushing hard to conclude by June 30. U.N. Security Council resolutions that have sanctioned Iran for its nuclear weapons development have also banned Iranian work on ballistic missile programs that could deliver the weapons. But missiles were not mentioned in the interim deal between Iran and the P5+1 powers struck last November, which has so far unfrozen billions in Iranian assets and which is supposed to be turned into a final agreement by June 30. Last year, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called any Western expectations that Iran would restrain its missile development program “stupid and idiotic,” and called for the country to mass produce such weapons. Even so, a 7-member U.N. expert panel which is monitoring Iran’s behavior on the proliferation issue while negotiations continue noted in its June 1, 2015 report that Iran’s officials and news media “have not been reporting any new ballistic missile developments” such as the “unveiling or testing of new types of ballistic missiles,” or tests of medium-range missiles it is already known to possess. Satellite launches, however, are another matter. The experts noted that the February 15 satellite payload weighed 110 lbs. and was designed for “collecting imagery.” It was only a limited success: the satellite fell back into the earth’s atmosphere after just 23 days, even though it was apparently intended to stay aloft for 18 months.

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama Nonetheless, the experts added, it was Iran’s first satellite launch since two failures in 2012. They also observed cryptically that “the details of this case present similarities with the launch of another satellite by a Safir space launch vehicle in 2011” and analyzed in one of their previous reports. And according to that earlier document, a majority of the expert panel concluded that “the satellite launch was related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons,” and the Safir satellite launch vehicle itself “made use of ballistic missile technology.” Both of those actions, the majority concluded in 2012, were violations of U.N. sanctions resolutions that explicitly forbade any Iranian activity “related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology.” The experts’ more diffident reference to Iran’s renewed program of launches over the next year gives Iran much greater benefit of the doubt this time. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/06/10/iran-satellite-launches-tied-to-ballistic-missile- program-un-experts-say/ Return to Top

FARS News Agency – Tehran, Iran Friday, June 12, 2015 PMD Issue Not Recognized by Iran TEHRAN (FNA) - The accusations raised against Iran under the 'Possible Military Dimensions' allegations are no way recognized by Iran, the country's permanent envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Reza Najafi said on Friday. "The Islamic Republic of Iran does not recognize the baseless and void accusations raised under the 'PMD' title," Najafi said. The envoy complained that "we have on various occasions declared that the documents presented for these allegations are forged and we have always informed the Agency (IAEA) of this issue in our meetings". He pointed to a Thursday court hearing on leaked information about the CIA's spying operations and fabrication of fake documents about Iran's nuclear program to accuse the country, and said such cases vindicate Iran's statements about the fake nature of the documents that the PMD accusations have been based on. "We have stated that if the Agency insists on the veracity of its information, then why they do not welcome Iran's offer for visiting the (nuclear) site in Mariwan," he asked. "The Agency report says that Iran has carried out banned activities in Mariwan region, and when we declared that we are ready to take the Agency (inspectors) to that region and provide them with managed access to any point that they like, the Agency shrugged off providing a response," he continued. "And this shows that the Agency has been fed with wrong information," the Iranian ambassador reiterated. The PMD has become a persistent bone of contention in the talks between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog. During the last year Iran has removed 16 of the 18 questions and ambiguities that the

IAEA has presented with regard to Tehran's nuclear activities, and the country has recently provided the needed answers and documents for the 17 point. Yet, the PMD allegations against the country have remained a persistent point of difference between the two sides. The accusations are based on alleged information derived from a laptop computer that Iran's armed opposition, the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO, also known as MEK, PMOI and NCRI), claims to have stolen from Iranian nuclear scientists and later presented to the US spying agencies. Renowned American investigative journalist Gareth Porter has in the last two years explained how the laptop documents were forged by Israel's Mossad spy agency in different articles and TV interviews, especially in his latest masterpiece 'Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare'. http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940322000676 Return to Top

The Times of Israel – Jerusalem, Israel World Powers would Accept Iran Deal without Answers on Past Arms Activity Officials say clarifications on military dimension of Tehran’s nuclear program won’t be possible by June 30 deadline By Bradley Klapper June 12, 2015 WASHINGTON (AP) — World powers are prepared to accept a nuclear agreement with Iran that doesn’t immediately answer questions about past atomic weapons work, US and Western officials said. Washington has said such concerns must be resolved in any final deal. After a November 2013 interim accord, the Obama administration said a comprehensive solution “would include resolution of questions concerning the possible military dimension of Iran’s nuclear program.” But those questions won’t be answered by the June 30 deadline for a final deal, officials said, echoing an assessment by the UN nuclear agency’s top official earlier this week. Nevertheless, the officials said an accord remains possible. One senior Western official on Thursday described diplomats as “more likely to get a deal than not” over the next three weeks. Much of Iran’s alleged work on warheads, delivery systems and detonators predates 2003, when much of Iran’s nuclear activity first came to light. But Western intelligence agencies say they don’t know the extent of Iran’s activities or if Iran persisted in covert efforts. An International Atomic Energy Agency investigation has been foiled for more than a decade by Iranian refusals to allow monitors to visit suspicious sites or interview individuals allegedly involved in secret weapons development.

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama Instead of resolving such questions this month, officials said the US and its negotiating partners are working on a list of future commitments Iran must fulfill in an agreement setting decade-long curbs on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief. The suspension of some sanctions would be tied to Iran finally answering all questions, giving world powers greater leverage, said the officials, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the private discussions and demanded anonymity. Senior diplomats from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran continued negotiations Thursday in Vienna. Iran denies any work on or interest in nuclear weapons, insisting that its enrichment of uranium, plans for a heavy water reactor and various research activities are meant for power generation and other peaceful applications. It says pieces of evidence cited by the IAEA and others are forgeries, and officials including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have made several defiant statements about blocking monitors from accessing Iranian facilities and scientists. “The repetition of such unsupported accusations has not added and will not add to their value and they do not merit consideration,” Iranian Ambassador Reza Najafi told the IAEA Thursday. Critics of the emerging Iran deal have focused significantly on the issue of Iran’s past military work. They insist Iran must not only “come clean” on such activity for transparency’s sake, as past and present US administrations have long demanded, but that compliance with any accord can only be measured if Tehran provides a complete accounting of all its previous nuclear efforts. Critics contend that otherwise, the world wouldn’t have a full script of everything it needs to verify. Any backtracking is likely to raise alarms with American allies in the Middle East and members of Congress, many of whom say the Obama administration already has conceded too much on permitted levels of Iranian nuclear activity, sanctions easing and other matters. The US dropped its reference to “resolution” of past military work after an April 2 preliminary pact, instead saying that in a final deal Iran “will implement an agreed set of measures to address the IAEA’s concerns regarding the possibility military dimensions (PMD) of its program.” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in following days that much remained to be negotiated, including an “access list” the Iranians would provide concerning sites and people of interest. “They’ve agreed to undertake this process,” she said, adding that the US “would find it very difficult to imagine” a final deal that doesn’t open up the Parchin military installation, a primary focus of nuclear investigators. http://www.timesofisrael.com/world-powers-would-accept-iran-deal-without-answers-on-past- arms-activity/ Return to Top

War on the Rocks.com OPINION/Analysis Anthrax Scare: Remain Calm! All is Well! By Al Mauroni June 8, 2015 The recent announcement that Dugway Proving Ground may have shipped live anthrax organisms through the mail to more than 20 laboratories and three foreign countries (Australia, Canada, and South Korea) has a lot of people excited right now. People are no doubt flashing back to the fall of 2001 when the specter of anthrax in the mail resulted in draconian mail screening processes and vigorous sales of antibiotics. The thousands of “white powder” scares over the years (and that continue today) have contributed to the dread we have seen in much of last week’s media coverage. To the great many people who are wondering how the Army laboratory got into the business of shipping out one of the most deadly biological organisms through FedEx, I want to say, in the spirit of the closing scene of “Animal House,” remain calm! All is well! The press has been aggressive in its coverage of this issue, as it should be. Of all the biological agents, anthrax is particularly dangerous because of the toxic effect it has once a person has inhaled the spores. After a person becomes symptomatic from inhalation anthrax, often within a week of exposure, they will die without aggressive medical treatment. Anthrax spores are particularly hardy and long-lasting, which makes them a dangerous threat wherever they land. When the U.S. government says, yeah, we might have shipped live anthrax samples to a large number of private and government labs without intending to, that sets off alarm bells, especially given recent fears about disease outbreaks and Ebola. But let’s get real about exactly what’s going on here. Q: Why is the Department of Defense breeding anthrax in the first place? A: We’ve been looking at anthrax for decades. The U.S. government needs to have samples of anthrax organisms so that scientists and doctors can develop defensive equipment, such as biological detectors, protective masks, medical vaccines and antibiotics, and decontaminants. If we can’t verify that the equipment works the way it should, then our troops won’t be protected against an enemy using anthrax as a weapon. Q: What are the numbers? How bad is this problem? A: There are two different strains of Bacillus anthracis (the micro-organism that causes anthrax) that are suspected of being the source of the “live anthrax” shipments. Four batches of biological material were manufactured and, from those four batches, 400 samples (called lots in the defense brief) were sent out to 51 private and government laboratories in 17 states, the District of Columbia, and three countries (Australia, Canada, and South Korea). That number might be higher, but this is what we know so far. Q: Wow, that sounds like a lot! Why is the Defense Department shipping dangerous organisms to so many laboratories?

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama A: Because Dugway is one of the very few U.S. facilities allowed to breed B. anthracis in support of research and development programs, in addition to testing military biological detectors and diagnostic equipment. Following the 2001 Amerithrax incident, the public’s dread over exposure to “white powder” (to include innocuous baking powder, laundry detergent, and crushed TicTacs), and the U.S. government’s desire to quickly improve its readiness against terrorists who might get their hands on biological organisms, Congress pumped billions of dollars into biological defense research and development programs aimed at improving homeland security and protecting our military forces. The pandemic scares between 2005 and 2009 fanned the flames of that research and development, causing the proliferation of more than a thousand biosafety level 3 laboratories (capable of handling live anthrax organisms) and dozens of biosafety level 4 laboratories (capable of handling Ebola viruses). Today, there are more than 300 laboratories in the United States that are authorized to handle B. anthracis organisms. It’s big business. Q: When did this problem with sending live anthrax lots through the mail start? When did they find out about this event? A: It looks like it started in 2008 and was discovered more than a year ago. It might sound crazy that this was going on for over five years without anyone knowing, but there is an explanation for that. Here’s what happened: The four batches from which all of the suspect lots came were manufactured in 2008. That doesn’t mean that every sample sent out from these four batches since 2008 was live, just that all of the lots in question were sent out between 2008 and 2014. Anthrax spores can live a long time, especially if they are refrigerated, so there’s no need to create fresh batches every year. It appears that one of the private laboratories discovered that they had live anthrax when they cultured (grew) anthrax from one of the lots, which they should not have been able to do. This was more than a year ago. Most of the receiving laboratories did not culture their B. anthracis, which is why no one else identified this issue. Q: Why are these samples being sent through the mail? That seems to be a very casual approach. A: Actually, there are well-established procedures to send biological samples through the mail, regulated by the federal government to ensure public health is not imperiled. Given the huge volume of biological material that hospitals and laboratories deal with every day, there has to be. When it comes to dangerous organisms like B. anthracis, people have to use gamma irradiation to inactivate the organisms prior to shipping. This is a very safe and accepted process, and if conducted successfully, ensures that there is no risk to public health. Q: Obviously your “safe and accepted process” didn’t work. Who screwed up? A: That’s a fair question, and one that cannot be answered right away. It looks like the irradiation process may not have been carried out correctly for a number of years. We should know more soon. The Defense Department is in the process of investigating where the process went wrong, and should have a report in 30 days. It’s hard to say at this time whether it was human error, machine error, process error, or all of the above. But until that is clearly known, there won’t be any more anthrax in the mail — dead or alive. Regardless of the source of the error, it’s safe to say that there’s no risk to public health. Q: How can you be so confident that there’s no threat to public health? A: There are two parts to this. First, the Department of Defense issued directives and instructions on safeguarding biological select agents and toxins between 2004 and 2006, followed by Army regulations on biosurety in 2008. Everyone understands the need for strict guidance and oversight on this topic. This leads to the shipping process involved — the lots contain one milliliter of liquid,

Issue No.1169, 12 June 2015 United States Air Force Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies| Maxwell AFB, Alabama http://cpc.au.af.mil \ https://twitter.com/USAF_CUWS Phone: 334.953.7538 | Fax: 334.953.7226 USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies (CUWS) Outreach Journal in which a very low concentration of biological organism is suspended. What’s considered “very low?” According to defense officials, less then what is required to infect a healthy individual, which is generally considered to be 8,000-10,000 organisms. That is to say, you can be exposed to small amounts of B. anthracis and not get infected. The lots are triple-wrapped — once in a Ziplock bag, wrapped with absorbent material, sealed in a hardened container, and inserted into a mailing box with dry ice. That’s pretty secure for a fifth of a teaspoon of liquid. Second, without reviewing the protocols at all of the receiving laboratories, I am willing to bet that all of them had trained technicians who understand how to handle biological organisms (dead or alive) and who were vaccinated against anthrax infection. Anthrax vaccinations are more common than you think. If you know anyone in the military who has deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, odds are you know someone that was vaccinated against anthrax. And even if they were not vaccinated, it’s not as if technicians could inhale the liquid holding anthrax spores. I say this because there has been absolutely no indication that any samples were lost and we know that no one became ill from exposure. If someone were to have died from anthrax exposure, doctors in the respective areas would have recognized it immediately and reported it by now. These were trusted laboratories with procedures to ensure that the public health was not imperiled. Q: So here’s the part where the federal government promises it will never happen again, right? A: I don’t speak for the federal government, but the answer is still no. Mistakes happen, even in secure labs with highly trained personnel. Despite strict regulations, redundant layers of protective measures, safety protocols, scientists and laboratory analysts can get casual attitudes after working with dangerous chemical and biological warfare agents for years, even when the work is involving live anthrax spores. They might not see the consequences of a mistake as high enough. They are vaccinated against anthrax and have ready access to antibiotics, so things can get sloppy. This is obviously not acceptable and we need to guard against such incidents — in fact, you can probably expect oversight and regulations to get even stricter — but no one is going to tell you in complete honesty “never again.” It’s the price of research driven by the demand that the federal government has to “do something” against the potential threat of terrorists using anthrax against the public. In 1968, there was a similar safety incident at the same place — Dugway Proving Ground — in which Utahan ranchers alleged that chemical weapons testing had resulted in the death of nearly 4,000 sheep. Another 2,000 sheep were put down because of the suspicion that they might have been exposed, and therefore they could not be sold on the market for meat or for their wool coats. No other animals or humans were affected, which led some to believe that other causes, such as the illegal use of pesticides by local farmers, might have been the source. It was hard to work out how a small amount of a persistent nerve agent (VX) traveled on the winds for 30 miles, rose over a mountain range, and settled on three sheep herds without injuring any other bird, mammal, or human. But the political fallout regarding the incident was quick and final, leading to the end of open-air testing of chemical and biological warfare agents in the United States. The result of that decision means that the U.S. military is unable today to conduct tests on chemical and biological warfare agents — in any quantity, under any condition — in the open environment, which limits our ability to understand their effects in the environment and on surface. This makes it more difficult and expensive to ensure that the defensive equipment the U.S. military has today will work as it is intended on the battlefield. At the least, the U.S. military ought to tread carefully in this current investigation to ensure that it does not stifle or kill a vital capability needed to create

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama countermeasures with which to face adversaries that do have biological warfare agents in their arsenals. At the same time, there ought to be a review of the existing biological defense research and development to ensure that all of the work is necessary for protecting our forces and not duplicative of existing public health research better conducted by other federal agencies. Al Mauroni is the Director of the U.S. Air Force Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies. The opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Air University, U.S. Air Force, or Department of Defense. http://warontherocks.com/2015/06/anthrax-scare-remain-calm-all-is-well/?singlepage=1 Return to Top

Forbes – New York, NY OPINION/Article SBIRS: The Pentagon's Most Important Space Program for Preventing Nuclear War By Loren Thompson, contributor June 8, 2015 The United States lacks defenses against a large-scale nuclear attack. It relies instead on the threat of devastating retaliation to deter countries like China and Russia from launching their missiles. If you pay attention to coverage of military matters, you will occasionally hear about steps the Air Force and Navy are taking to assure the U.S. nuclear arsenal can ride out a surprise attack and then strike back. That is the main way the military seeks to assure that nobody attacks in the first place. One of the things you almost never hear about, though, is how U.S. leaders would know America was under attack. It only takes about 30 minutes for warheads launched on ballistic missiles located in the Russian interior to reach U.S. soil, and maybe half that time if they are launched from submarines at sea. That isn’t much time to react. And once the warheads start exploding, the president’s ability to order retaliation might be severely impaired (assuming he’s still alive). So the survival of American civilization could hinge on whether potential aggressors believe the U.S. can see an attack coming soon enough to act. The most important program the Pentagon has for assuring early warning of a missile attack is the Space Based Infrared System, or SBIRS (“Sibbers”). SBIRS is a constellation of four satellites parked in geosynchronous orbit above the equator, plus two additional sensors hosted on spy satellites that fly over the North Pole. Collectively, the constellation has a continuous view of the Earth’s entire surface, which it searches for signs of infrared radiation indicating major heat sources – such as missile launches. The geosynchronous satellites have both scanning sensors for wide-area searches and staring sensors for focusing in on smaller areas of high interest. If Russia or any other country were to launch a ballistic missile, SBIRS would be the first U.S. military asset to see it. The satellites would quickly process that information and transmit it via a secure communication link to elements of the Air Force Space Command in Colorado, from whence it would then be shared — very quickly – with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and other relevant parts of the military. If the launch in question is deemed to be non- threatening, then it will simply be monitored. But if it is an attack, the president will be notified within minutes of detection. He will then decide in consultation with his military advisors how to respond, using a menu of pre-selected retaliatory options.

The Pentagon has spent hundreds of billions of dollars over the years preparing for the day when such a threat arises, so that no nuclear aggressor will ever be able to devise a way of escaping retribution. It has a “triad” of offensive weapons — bombers, missiles in silos, missiles at sea — that would be nearly impossible to destroy in a surprise attack. It has redundant command networks for staying in touch with them. It has spy satellites that eavesdrop on potential adversaries from antennas the size of football fields, or collect imagery that can capture details as small as four inches. But without SBIRS, the whole edifice of nuclear deterrence might crumble in a crisis. So it matters a lot that the constellation be in good working order 24-7. That’s the responsibility of the Remote Sensing Systems Directorate, a part of the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base — traditionally the hub of the U.S. military-industrial complex for space. Antecedents of the directorate have been in this line of work since shortly after the Russians launched Sputnik in 1957. The first of twelve Missile Defense Alarm System (MIDAS) satellites were launched in 1960, followed ten years later by the constellation that preceded SBIRS called the Defense Support Program. The 23rd and final satellite in the latter program was launched in 2007, by which time SBIRS had been in development for 11 years. But the SBIRS program only became fully operational two years ago. One reason SBIRS took so long to bring to fruition — 15 years from initial award to full operational status — was that it was conceived to be far more capable than previous missile warning systems. Its infrared sensors have three times the sensitivity of those in the legacy constellation, and twice the “revisit” rate as they scan the Earth’s surface. They also operate in multiple infrared wavelengths, enabling them to detect and characterize a wider range of infrared phenomena. The pointing accuracy of each five-ton geosynchronous satellite is said to be 0.05 degrees, thanks to three-axis stabilization, and the nominal design life of each spacecraft is 12 years (they will last longer if fuel holds out). However, SBIRS from its inception wasn’t just a satellite constellation, it was a family of systems that included a new ground architecture for managing and exploiting the increasingly diverse array of infrared data being collected from overhead assets. The ground segment became operational in 2001, generating greater functionality from legacy Defense Support Program satellites. Today it supports a mixed constellation of both legacy and newer spacecraft that will gradually transition to an all-SBIRS configuration by the end of the decade. The data disseminated by the ground segment is used not only for missile warning, but also missile defense, technical intelligence and battlespace awareness supporting tactical commanders in places like the Middle East. In 2003, the Pentagon’s most prestigious advisory panel, the Defense Science Board, issued a study on the acquisition of national-security space programs that criticized the SBIRS program for excessive performance requirements, insufficient funding, and lack of management continuity. In the early years, SBIRS reflected excessive optimism on the part of policymakers and contractors concerning what could be achieved within tight budgets and compressed schedules. However, a dozen years later prime-contractor Lockheed Martin and sensor subcontractor Northrop Grumman have made the program work without abandoning any of its ambitious performance specifications (Lockheed contributes to my think tank and is a consulting client). The interesting question today is how the reliability and versatility of the constellation might be further enhanced through the introduction of new technologies. The third and fourth geosynchronous satellites in the program saw about 30% of parts changed from the baseline

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama design, and that process will undoubtedly continue on the fifth and sixth satellites needed in orbit by 2020 and 2021. The Air Force has indicated it wants to apply more innovative acquisition practices to future SBIRS satellites, and has also begun thinking about a successor constellation. Significant improvements in functionality can also be accomplished by upgrading the ground architecture. However, it is important not to lose sight of what really matters here. The Space Based Infrared System is vital to the deterrence of nuclear war — the one manmade threat that could wipe out American civilization. There are new technologies such as digital sensors and new acquisition concepts such as open architectures that could make SBIRS even more useful. But for god’s sake let’s not do any harm to this program, because it really is crucial to America’s survival in a world where the number of nuclear-armed nations is growing. Loren Thompson is the Chief Operating Officer of the non-profit Lexington Institute and Chief Executive Officer of Source Associates. Prior to holding his present positions, he was Deputy Director of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University and taught graduate-level courses in strategy, technology and media affairs at Georgetown. http://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2015/06/08/sbirs-the-pentagons-most-important- space-program-for-preventing-nuclear-war/ Return to Top

Brookings Institute – Washington, D.C. OPINION/Commentary Calling Foul: The U.S. Response to Russia’s Violation of a Nuclear Arms Treaty By Steven Pifer June 9, 2015 The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty found its way to the headlines last week. The U.S. State Department issued a report stating that Russia continues to be in violation of the treaty, and an article on possible U.S. military responses sparked angst in Moscow. Until fairly recently, the INF treaty had for a long time been of interest only to arms control junkies. Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev signed the INF Treaty back in December 1987. It banned all U.S. and Soviet ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. It entered into force in June 1988. Three years later, the two countries had destroyed some 2,600 missiles—the first time ever that an entire class of nuclear arms had been eliminated. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan took on the Soviet INF treaty obligations, including the ban on testing or producing INF missiles in the future. Last July, Washington disclosed that Russia had violated its obligation under the treaty “not to possess, produce, or flight-test” an intermediate-range ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM). On June 5, the State Department said that Russia remains in violation. A new Russian intermediate-range GLCM would lack the range to pose a direct threat to the United States, except perhaps part of Alaska. But it could directly threaten a host of American allies— including NATO members in Europe and Japan and South Korea—as well as other countries, such as China.

Russian officials assert the U.S. government has provided no details to back up its charge and claim it is the United States that is in violation of the treaty. U.S. officials say they have provided Russia sufficient information to identify the violation, but they have released few details publicly. Washington’s concern about making details public and sharing too much with the Russians likely reflects concern about “sources and methods”—providing too much information could reveal how the U.S. intelligence community discovered the violation and risk losing access to such information in the future. (Disclaimer: I have no independent basis on which to judge the U.S. charge but believe there is something to it. This is in part because the finding of a violation was not something that the Obama administration sought; had there been any ambiguity or doubt about the evidence, it would have held off on reaching its determination.) U.S. officials have said that, if Moscow does not correct the problem and come back into compliance with the INF Treaty, they will ensure that Russia gains no significant military advantage from the violation. A range of options are being considered, some which would be consistent with the treaty and others which would require withdrawal. The options include defensive measures to defeat the Russian GLCM as well as “counterforce” capabilities that would presumably allow the cruise missiles to be attacked before launch. A June 4 Associated Press story noted that one counterforce option could entail deployment of new U.S. land-based missiles in Europe. That got noticed in Moscow. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow “placed much attention” on the report. Colonel General Victor Zavarzin, a member of the Russian federal assembly’s defense committee, warned “if the Americans indeed deploy their ground-based nuclear missiles in Europe, in this case we will face the necessity of retaliating.” It comes as no surprise that the possibility of U.S. INF missiles in Europe provoked concern in Moscow. The Soviets really did not like the U.S. GLCMs and Pershing II ballistic missiles deployed in Europe in the 1980s, a key factor in getting Moscow to change its negotiating stance and ultimately accept a treaty banning all INF missiles. The thought that the Pentagon might dream up a Pershing III makes the Russian Ministry of Defense nervous—and hopefully reminds the Kremlin of why it saw value in the INF Treaty in the first place. But that is unlikely to be the response. Building a new INF missile would be expensive. More importantly, it is not clear that European allies would be eager to accept deployment of such a missile on their territory. While deployment of U.S. missiles in Europe did eventually go forward 30 years ago, it was far from certain. (An INF missile in the continental United States could not reach Russian territory; even if deployed in Alaska, it could not hold at risk much in Russia of interest.) The Pentagon's response No Defense Department response would be necessary if Russia came back into compliance with the treaty. Unfortunately, in the current political atmosphere between Washington and Moscow, it is difficult to imagine how that might happen. Moreover, over the past eight years, senior Russian officials—including President Putin himself— have called into question Russia’s continued adherence to the treaty. They have expressed concern that other countries, not bound by the treaty, are building INF missiles. Of course, given Moscow’s

USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies CUWS Outreach Journal Maxwell AFB, Alabama enormous stockpile of strategic and other nuclear weapons, it’s hard to think of a legitimate reason for the Kremlin to build an INF missile of its own. But, as we have seen with Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the Kremlin has a different way of looking at things. Steven Pifer is director of the Brookings Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative and a senior fellow with the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence and the Center on the United States and Europe in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings. A former ambassador to Ukraine, Pifer’s career as a foreign service officer centered on Europe, the former Soviet Union and arms control. http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/order-from-chaos/posts/2015/06/09-russia-violates-nuclear- treaty-pifer?rssid=u+s+military+affairs Return to Top

ABOUT THE USAF CUWS The USAF Counterproliferation Center was established in 1998 at the direction of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Located at Maxwell AFB, this Center capitalizes on the resident expertise of Air University, while extending its reach far beyond - and influences a wide audience of leaders and policy makers. A memorandum of agreement between the Air Staff Director for Nuclear and Counterproliferation (then AF/XON), now AF/A5XP) and Air War College Commandant established the initial manpower and responsibilities of the Center. This included integrating counterproliferation awareness into the curriculum and ongoing research at the Air University; establishing an information repository to promote research on counterproliferation and nonproliferation issues; and directing research on the various topics associated with counterproliferation and nonproliferation . The Secretary of Defense's Task Force on Nuclear Weapons Management released a report in 2008 that recommended "Air Force personnel connected to the nuclear mission be required to take a professional military education (PME) course on national, defense, and Air Force concepts for deterrence and defense." As a result, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, in coordination with the AF/A10 and Air Force Global Strike Command, established a series of courses at Kirtland AFB to provide continuing education through the careers of those Air Force personnel working in or supporting the nuclear enterprise. This mission was transferred to the Counterproliferation Center in 2012, broadening its mandate to providing education and research to not just countering WMD but also nuclear deterrence. In February 2014, the Center’s name was changed to the Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies to reflect its broad coverage of unconventional weapons issues, both offensive and defensive, across the six joint operating concepts (deterrence operations, cooperative security, major combat operations, irregular warfare, stability operations, and homeland security). The term “unconventional weapons,” currently defined as nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, also includes the improvised use of chemical, biological, and radiological hazards. The CUWS's military insignia displays the symbols of nuclear, biological, and chemical hazards. The arrows above the hazards represent the four aspects of counterproliferation - counterforce, active defense, passive defense, and consequence management.