Trident Dialogues a Short Drama by Jo Alberti Trident Dialogues
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'The Future of Britain's Nuclear Weapons
org-cdr-cover-final 280306.qxd 17/05/2007 14:24 Page 1 OxfordResearchGroup building bridges for global security In collaboration with Beyond Trident OxfordResearchGroup Oxford Research Group (ORG) is an independent non-governmental organisation (NGO) which works to develop effective methods for people to bring about positive change on issues of national and international security by non-violent means. Established in 1982, it is a registered charity and a “This report covers public company limited by guarantee. In 2003 its founder director Scilla Elworthy was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize for her work with ORG, and in April 2005 The Independent newspaper named the nuclear debate ORG one of the top 20 think tanks in the UK undertaking “blue skies” thinking. comprhensively from all sides of the We carry out and commission research into realistic non-military alternatives to current security THE FUTURE argument. orthodoxy. We publish and disseminate our findings through reports, seminars, consultations and Regardless of their private dialogues. Our practice is to make accurate information available so that open public debate OF BRITAIN’S convictions, the can take place. We also seek to foster dialogue between policy-makers and their critics, to help build bridges of understanding as a means of developing new ideas and making possible significant policy authors make a shifts. ORG seeks to promote more transparent, accountable and informed decision-making compelling case for processes in UK and overseas governments. NUCLEAR a wider debate in Britain about the WEAPONS: future of our About this report nuclear weapon This report is published in the context of a series of inquiries taking place within the Defence capability. -
Siloed-Thinking.Pdf
1 siloed thinking: A Closer Look at the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent ABOUT FAS The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an independent, nonpartisan think tank that brings together members of the science and policy communities to collaborate on mitigating global catastrophic threats. Founded in November 1945 as the Federation of Atomic Scientists by scientists who built the first atomic bombs during the Manhattan Project, FAS is devoted to the belief that scientists, engineers, and other technically trained people have the ethical obligation to ensure that the technological fruits of their intellect and labor are applied to the benefit of humankind. In 1946, FAS rebranded as the Federation of American Scientists to broaden its focus to prevent global catastrophes. Since its founding, FAS has served as an influential source of information and rigorous, evidence- based analysis of issues related to national security. Specifically, FAS works to reduce the spread and number of nuclear weapons, prevent nuclear and radiological terrorism, promote high standards for the safety and security of nuclear energy, illuminate government secrecy practices, and prevent the use of biological and chemical weapons. The Nuclear Information Project provides the public with reliable information about the status and trends of the nuclear weapons arsenals of the world’s nuclear-armed countries. The project, which according to the Washington Post is “one of the most widely sourced agencies for nuclear warhead counts,” uses open sources such as official documents, testimonies, previously undisclosed information obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, as well as independent analysis of commercial satellite imagery as the basis for developing the best available unclassified estimates of the status and trends of nuclear weapons worldwide. -
Jack Frederick Davies 1 the IMPACT of HYPERSONIC WEAPONS ON
Jack Frederick Davies 1 THE IMPACT OF HYPERSONIC WEAPONS ON WORLD NUCLEAR POSTURE A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Philosophy, Politics and Economics CEVRO Institut, Prague ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Jack Frederick Davies February 2020 Jack Frederick Davies 2 Table of Contents Page Introduction----------------------------------------------------------------------------3-6 Chapter 1 War and Diplomacy a Spectrum---------------------------------------6-15 1.1 International Actors as Hobbesian Persons--------------------7-9 1.2 The Politicization of War-------------------------------------------9-13 1.3 Coercive Diplomacy--------------------------------------------------13-15 Chapter 2 Nuclear Uniqueness------------------------------------------------------15-29 2.1 Introduction to the Nuclear Weapon------------------------------15-17 2.2 Nuclear Weapons and Coercive Diplomacy----------------------17-20 2.3 The Prospect of Limited War----------------------------------------20-22 2.4 Nuclear Weapons and Strategic Bombardment Theories------22-24 2.5 Strategic Bombing and Hiroshima and Nagasaki----------------24-27 2.6 Nuclear Weapons as an Engine of Diplomacy--------------------27-29 Chapter 3 Strategic Considerations of the Nuclear Option--------------------29-64 3.1 Compellence, Deterrence and Defense----------------------------30-32 3.2 The Balance of Terror -
Nuclear Weapon
Nuclear weapon “A-bomb” redirects here. For other uses, see A-bomb fare, both times by the United States against Japan near (disambiguation). the end of World War II. On August 6, 1945, the U.S. Army Air Forces detonated a uranium gun-type fission bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” over the Japanese city of Hiroshima; three days later, on August 9, the U.S. Army Air Forces detonated a plutonium implosion-type fission bomb codenamed "Fat Man" over the Japanese city of Nagasaki. The bombings resulted in the deaths of approximately 200,000 civilians and military personnel from acute injuries sustained from the explosions.[3] The ethics of the bombings and their role in Japan’s surrender remain the subject of scholarly and popular debate. Since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons have been detonated on over two thou- sand occasions for the purposes of testing and demon- stration. Only a few nations possess such weapons or are suspected of seeking them. The only countries known to have detonated nuclear weapons—and acknowledge pos- sessing them—are (chronologically by date of first test) the United States, the Soviet Union (succeeded as a nu- clear power by Russia), the United Kingdom, France, the People’s Republic of China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Israel is also believed to possess nuclear weapons, though in a policy of deliberate ambiguity, it does not acknowledge having them. Germany, Italy, Turkey, The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city Belgium and the Netherlands are nuclear weapons sharing [4][5][6] of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 rose some 11 miles (18 km) above states. -
The Climatic Impacts and Humanitarian Problems from the Use of the UK's
Dr Philip Webber presents the evidence that the launch of the nuclear missiles of just one UK Trident submarine could cause devastating climatic cooling The climatic impacts and humanitarian problems from the use of the UK’s nuclear weapons In 2007, new scientific studies were carried out using Cold War ended and the missiles are not targeted at However, Moscow was not the only target. Trident the latest climate models to re-examine the issue of any country’ [iv]. Whilst this may be true in a narrow includes the ability to devastate 5 - 10 of the most the ‘nuclear winter’, the global climatic effect likely to sense, target lists still have to be drawn up so that populous Russian cities and several associated be triggered by a nuclear war. On the basis of these the missiles are available for use. These target command, communications and naval centres with studies, I estimated the global cooling that could options are locked away on the submarine and a combination of blast, fire and fallout and leave occur if all the nuclear warheads carried by just one require the submarine commander, executive officer these centres with immense physical devastation of the UK’s Trident submarines were launched. My and weapons officer to authorise after direct orders and considerable radiation from weapons detonated analysis was published by SGR in 2008 [i], following from the Prime Minister. Also, after a period of at ground level. an earlier article in the Bulletin of the Atomic conflict and a breakdown in communications the Scientists, and is reproduced on the following pages. -
Launch-On-Warning and China's Nuclear Posture
No.50 May 2020 Launch-On-Warning and China’s Nuclear Posture Samanvya Hooda ICS OCCASSIONAL PAPER NO. 50 Launch-On-Warning and China’s Nuclear Posture Author: Samanvya Hooda First published in 2020 © Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi Institute of Chinese Studies 8/17 Sri Ram Road, Civil Lines Delhi 110 054, INDIA Ph.: +91-11-23938202; Fax: +91-11-23830728 Email: [email protected] Website: www.icsin.org ABOUT THE AUTHOR Samanvya Hooda is a Research Assistant at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi. He holds a B.A (International Relations) from the Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts, with a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies. As part of his coursework, he authored a dissertation exploring the factors that led to Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action of 2015, along with a seminar paper on 'Legal Aspects of Digital Surveillance in India'. Prior to ICS, he worked with a New Delhi based advocacy consultancy, and also as a Research Intern for the Nuclear Security Programme at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies. His research interests lie in Nuclear Doctrines and Security, Missile Programs, South Asian Geopolitics, and Conventional Deterrence. Contact: [email protected] Acknowledgement The author would like to thank Ruhee Neog, Director of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies for her valuable feedback and comments. Launch-On-Warning and China’s Nuclear Posture Abstract China’s deterrent is premised on the survivability and credibility of its nuclear forces. The policy of assured retaliation has allowed it to maintain a relatively small arsenal, stressing on second-strike capabilities for counter-value targeting. -
HMS Vengeance (S31) 1 HMS Vengeance (S31)
HMS Vengeance (S31) 1 HMS Vengeance (S31) Vanguard, sister ship to Vengeance Career (UK) [1] Laid down: 1 February 1993 [1] Launched: 19 September 1998 [1] Commissioned: 27 November 1999 [2] In service: 12 February 2001 Homeport: HMNB Clyde Fate: In Devonport for refit, as of 2012 Badge: General characteristics [1] Class & type: Vanguard-class submarine Displacement: Dived: 15,900 long tons (16,200 t) Length: 149.9 m (491 ft 10 in) Beam: 12.8 m (42 ft 0 in) Draught: 12 m (39 ft 4 in) Propulsion: • 1 × Rolls-Royce PWR2 nuclear reactor • 2 × GEC turbines; 27,500 shp (20.5 MW) • 1 × shaft, pump jet propulsor • 2 × auxiliary retractable propulsion motors • 2 × WH Allen turbo generators (6 MW) • 2 × Paxman diesel alternators; 2,700 shp (2.0 MW) Speed: Dived: 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) Range: Unlimited distance; 20-25 years Complement: 14 officers 121 enlisted HMS Vengeance (S31) 2 Sensors and • BAE Systems SMCS processing systems: • Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 I-band navigation radar • Thales Underwater Systems Type 2054 composite sonar suite comprising: • Marconi/Ferranti Type 2046 towed array sonar • Type 2043 hull-mounted active and passive search sonar • Type 2082 passive intercept and ranging sonar • 1 × Pilkington Optronics CK51 search periscope • 1 × Pilkington Optronics CH91 attack periscope Electronic warfare • 2 × SSE Mk10 launchers for Type 2066 and Type 2071 torpedo decoys & decoys: • RESM Racal UAP passive intercept Armament: • 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes for Spearfish torpedoes • 16 × ballistic missile tubes for 16 x Lockheed Trident D5 SLBMs carrying up to 192 warheads HMS Vengeance is the fourth and final Vanguard-class submarine of the Royal Navy. -
Nuclear Weapons: Big Question Is Whether UK Would Use Them in Revenge – Alastair Stewart - the Scotsman
Nuclear weapons: Big question is whether UK would use them in revenge – Alastair Stewart - The Scotsman Jobs Cars Homes Subscribe Opinion Columnists Letters More Nuclear weapons: Big question is whether UK would use them in revenge – Alastair Stewart https://web.archive.org/...inion/columnists/nuclear-weapons-big-question-is-whether-uk-would-use-them-in-revenge-alastair-stewart-1-5052623[17/08/2020 11:04:12] Nuclear weapons: Big question is whether UK would use them in revenge – Alastair Stewart - The Scotsman HMS Victorious on patrol off the west coast of Scotland (Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Images) HMS Victorious on patrol off the west coast of Scotland (Picture: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Images) By ALASTAIR STEWART Email Published: 17:00 Tuesday 26 November 2019 Share this article https://web.archive.org/...inion/columnists/nuclear-weapons-big-question-is-whether-uk-would-use-them-in-revenge-alastair-stewart-1-5052623[17/08/2020 11:04:12] Nuclear weapons: Big question is whether UK would use them in revenge – Alastair Stewart - The Scotsman Sign Up To Our Daily Newsletter Sign up Only a handful of people know whether Britain's nuclear submarines would retaliate against a nuclear attack on the UK, writes Alastair 5 comments Stewart. Nuclear weapons are amongst some of the most controversial and emotive of issues. The recent news that the United States will no longer rely on floppy disks to operate its nuclear systems is a timely reminder that this is a very old HAVE debate indeed. Yet so much of the issue is bogged down in the morality of the YOUR SAY technology that we seldom ask if they'd actually work in practice. -
HACKING UK TRIDENT: a Growing Threat
HACKING UK TRIDENT: A Growing Threat JUNE 2017 BASIC Stanislav Abaimov and Paul Ingram British American Security Disclaimer Information Council (BASIC) 3 Whitehall Court Only publicly available information has been used in Westminster the research behind this publication. No classified London SQ1A 2EL information has been disclosed. We have been careful not to include a level of detail that could be of Charity Registration No. 1001081 use to any group that might be motivated and capable of compromising the security of the T: +44 (0) 20 77663465 operational systems concerned. Any cyber-attacks www.basicint.org that have any hope of success could only be mounted by a highly-sophisticated group probably © British American Security Information with the backing of a major state. This report will Council (BASIC), June 2017 have no impact upon the awareness or capabilities of any such group. The opinions expressed in this publication are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of BASIC. We have included in this report a number of scenarios to illustrate the type of threat this report is All rights reserved. No part of this publication discussing. The stories, characters and incidents may be reproduced or transmitted in any form portrayed in those illustrations are fictitious. or by any means, electronic or mechanical No identification with actual persons (living or including photocopying, recording or any deceased), specific subcontractors, hacking groups information storage or retrieval system, or foreign entities is intended or should be inferred. without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. Please direct all enquiries to the publishers. -
Book Review: Mad Fiction
BOOK REVIEW MAD FICTION Bruce G. Blair © 2014 Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety, by Eric Schlosser, Penguin, 2013. 656 pages, $36. KEYWORDS: Nuclear weapon; nuclear accident; nuclear war; nuclear deterrence; mutual assured destruction; launch-on-warning; United States; Soviet Union For public consumption, the official narrative of the Cold War celebrated nuclear weapons as the bulwark of US security. By deterring the Soviets from initiating a nuclear attack, and vice versa, the superpowers built strategic stability on a solid foundation of mutual terror. By credibly threatening devastating retaliation by survivable nuclear forces under the firm control of the US president and his Soviet counterpart, nuclear war would be prevented. And although the US and Soviet operational postures ran risks of accidental, mistaken, or unauthorized use of nuclear weapons, the public and the major institutions of government and society were solemnly assured that they were negligible risks. Eric Schlosser offers a compelling repudiation of this entire narrative. His investiga- tion shows definitively that the risks were far greater than officially admitted. The perceived need for nuclear weapons to be readily usable overrode concerns for their safety, and a combination of human and technical factors led to near disaster countless times. Thick secrecy, fact twisting about the US nuclear arsenal, and subterfuge aggravated the risks and allowed them to escape the control of the democratic process, and even to escape notice and remedial action within the inner precincts of the government. Even defense secretaries and presidents often floundered in the dark, unaware of the variety and magnitude of the dangers. -
Ensuring Cyber Resilience in NATO's Command, Control And
Ensuring Cyber Resilience in NATO’s Command, Control and Communication Systems Command, Control Ensuring in NATO’s Cyber Resilience Research Paper Yasmin Afina, Calum Inverarity and Beyza Unal International Security Programme | July 2020 Ensuring Cyber Resilience in NATO’s Command, Control and Communication Systems Yasmin Afina, Calum Inverarity and Beyza Unal and Beyza Afina, Calum Inverarity Yasmin Chatham House Ensuring Cyber Resilience in NATO’s Command, Control and Communication Systems Contents Summary 2 1. Introduction 3 2. Command, Control and Communication in NATO 7 3. Nuclear Command, Control and Communication 14 4. Entanglement of Conventional and Nuclear Command and Control 29 5. Legal Implications of Attacking Dual-use C3 Systems 31 6. Conclusion and Way Forward 33 Appendix 1: NATO Allies’ Nuclear Planning and NC3 architecture 36 Appendix II: Nuclear Sharing 45 Appendix III: Control Deficiencies and Vulnerabilities 50 Acronyms and Abbreviations 52 About the Authors 54 Acknowledgments 55 1 | Chatham House Ensuring Cyber Resilience in NATO’s Command, Control and Communication Systems Summary NATO’s nuclear capability is provided by the US and the UK. The modernization of systems and arsenals held by both states is proceeding apace. This has involved – and continues to involve – the integration and use of increasingly sophisticated new technologies within their nuclear programmes, including in their respective command, control and communication (C3) systems. Cyber operations targeting NATO members’ C3 systems and their assets, including nuclear assets, are also increasingly sophisticated in nature. While cybersecurity is a serious concern, and there is acknowledgment of the potential magnitude of cyberattacks, documentation available in the public domain indicates the need for NATO and its members to put in place further measures to ensure the cybersecurity of C3 systems, including those of nuclear systems (NC3).