(CSDS) News and Analysis Issue 1338
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Issue 1338 26 October 2018 // USAF CSDS News and Analysis Issue 1338 // Feature Report “Russian Compliance with the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty: Background and Issues for Congress”. By Amy F. Woolf. Published by Congressional Research Service; Updated Oct. 5, 2018 https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/R43832.pdf The United States and Soviet Union signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in December 1987. Negotiations on this treaty were the result of a “dual-track” decision taken by NATO in 1979. At that time, in response to concerns about the Soviet Union’s deployment of new intermediate-range nuclear missiles, NATO agreed both to accept deployment of new U.S. intermediate-range ballistic and cruise missiles and to support U.S. efforts to negotiate with the Soviet Union to limit these missiles. In the INF Treaty, the United States and Soviet Union agreed that they would ban all land-based ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. The ban would apply to missiles with nuclear or conventional warheads, but would not apply to sea-based or air-delivered missiles. … The Trump Administration conducted an extensive review of the INF Treaty during 2017 to assess the potential security implications of Russia’s violation and to determine how the United States would respond going forward. On December 8, 2017—the 30th anniversary of the date when the treaty was signed—the Administration announced that the United States would implement an integrated response that included diplomatic, military, and economic measures. Congress is likely to continue to conduct oversight hearings on this issue, and to receive briefings on the status of Russia’s cruise missile program. It may also consider legislation authorizing U.S. military responses and supporting alternative diplomatic approaches. This report will be updated as needed. Issue No. 1320 22 June 2018 twitter.com/USAF_CSDS | au.af.mil/au/csds // 2 // USAF CSDS News and Analysis Issue 1338 // TABLE OF CONTENTS NUCLEAR WEAPONS One Nuclear Treaty Is Dead. Is New START Next? (Defense News) Signed in 2010 between the U.S. and Russia, the New START treaty limits the deployed forces of both nations to 1,550 nuclear warheads over 700 delivery systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and bombers. Belgium Reportedly Picks F-35 for Future Fighter Jet (Defense News) … Belgium for decades has had an agreement with NATO that requires its planes to be capable of carrying U.S. nuclear weapons into a hypothetical atomic war. China’s H-20 Stealth Bomber: Everything We Know about It (The National Interest) If the H-20 does have the range and passable stealth characteristics attributed to it, then it could alter the strategic calculus between the United States and China by exposing U.S. bases and fleets across the Pacific to surprise air attacks. US COUNTER-WMD U.S. Army Awards $9M Autonomous Unmanned Systems Contract to Robotic Research (Homeland Preparedness News) The military has a specific interest in upping these unmanned technologies for use in subterranean environments and counter-weapons of mass destruction operations. U.S. Military Units in Okinawa Conduct Joint, Bilateral CBRN Training (Stripes Okinawa) The two day CBRN training exercise built upon previously joint/bilateral field training exercises designed to increase combat readiness and interoperability of U.S. forces and the Japan Self Defense Forces. US ARMS CONTROL Russia Wants Explanation of Trump Withdrawal from Arms Treaty (VOA) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia has not violated the treaty and if the United States goes on to develop new missiles then Russia would be forced to respond in kind. How to Avoid a Cyberattack Turning into a Nuclear War? Keep Talking. (Defense One) One danger that merits special attention is the possibility of a North Korean cyberattack escalating out of control – one that that sparks an American counterstrike using conventional weapons so intense that Pyongyang responds with an attempted nuclear missile attack on the United States. COMMENTARY Death of Nuclear Treaty with Russia Could Start Arms Race with China (The Hill) China is building a new generation of ground-based missiles squarely aimed at U.S. and allied bases and naval vessels in the Asia-Pacific that Washington has no ability to match, because of the treaty. What the IAEA Doesn’t Know — Or Want to Know — about Iran’s Nuclear Program (The Hill) This wasn’t the first time the IAEA failed to investigate possible Iranian violations discovered by Israeli intelligence. Why America Shouldn’t Threaten Preemptive War (The National Interest) Continually pushing for dominance in the backyards of the world's nuclear powers is madness. Continuity Is Not Consensus: The Future Nuclear Posture Review (Center for Strategic & International Studies) Leaked a month before its actual release, the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) initially unleashed a frenetic and somewhat nasty debate, especially on Twitter among nuclear policy geeks, wonks, advocates, and gadflies. twitter.com/USAF_CSDS | au.af.mil/au/csds // 3 // USAF CSDS News and Analysis Issue 1338 // NUCLEAR WEAPONS Defense News (Washington, D.C.) One Nuclear Treaty Is Dead. Is New START Next? By Aaron Mehta Oct. 23, 2018 WASHINGTON — As the Trump administration moves closer towards exiting the Intermediate- Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, experts are left to wonder whether another nuclear treaty may be in the administration’s crosshairs. Signed in 2010 between the U.S. and Russia, the New START treaty limits the deployed forces of both nations to 1,550 nuclear warheads over 700 delivery systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and bombers. Asked about New START’s future while in Moscow, John Bolton. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, said the government is “currently considering” its position on the agreement, but then added that the administration “does not have a position that we’re prepared to negotiate.” This isn’t the first time the administration has raised fears about the future of New START. In February 2017, Trump called the agreement “a one-sided deal” and a "bad deal.” However, nothing came from those comments, and a month later, Lt. Gen. Jack Weinstein, then the service’s deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration, said the agreement was of “huge value” to the U.S., adding that it has “been good for us.” Advocates for the treaty say New START benefits both directly by limiting the number of weapons deployed, and in indirect ways through information gathered. Frank Miller, who served as senior director for defense policy and arms control for President George W. Bush’s National Security Council, said during a Monday Atlantic Council event that the treaty provides 18 on-site inspections of Russian weapons a year, “valuable” information for America’s military. "The Russians need to see consequences from noncompliance on INF, I fundamentally agree with that,” Miller said. But “if the Russians don’t see us as reliable partners in arms control agreements and think they are likely to be surprised by us, as they were by some degree from the withdraw of the ABM treaty and by the abrupt nature of the withdraw from INF, they may begin to hedge and they may be more inclined, rather than less inclined, to prepare themselves for a [nuclear] breakout.” Speaking at the same Atlantic Council event, Richard Burt, who served as chief negotiator in the original START talks between the U.S. and Russia, said the INF decision is “very bad news for anybody who is a supporter of extending New START.” “That decision doesn’t have to be formally taken until 2021, so a lot will depend on the outcome of the 2020 elections. I would say that if you do see Donald Trump re-elected and his national security adviser remains John Bolton, I think it’s a better than even chance that New START is not extended," he said. Notably, Bolton highlighted in his comments that the treaty doesn’t expire until 2021, so “we have plenty of time,” perhaps a hint that the administration does not plan to leave the agreement prematurely. twitter.com/USAF_CSDS | au.af.mil/au/csds // 4 // USAF CSDS News and Analysis Issue 1338 // But James Acton of the Carnegie Nuclear Policy Program sees few ties between the INF move and the future of New START — not that he’s optimistic about the latter. “New START is in deep trouble, but not because of this,” he said. “Russia, I think, would agree to extending New START even if the US withdraws from INF. The problem is that it’s increasingly clear that this administration doesn’t want to extend New START.” For the defense industry, the death knell of the INF agreement doesn’t move the needle much, said analyst Byron Callan, of Capital Alpha Partners. But New START could be “another matter,” he said. “New START’s demise could support a larger strategic weapons force, so it’s possible that programs such as Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent [Boeing vs Northrop] and LRSO [Lockheed Martin vs Raytheon] competition are upsized, and there would be more work on nuclear weapons in the Department of Energy,” Callan wrote in a note to investors. “Hypersonic weapon delivery platforms and missile defense could also play well in this environment, particularly with the possible loss of inspection/verification provisions of New START.” Action does wonder if domestic reaction to the INF withdrawal could change how the administration tackles New START, depending on potential blowback. But Callan notes that trying to project the political realities of 2021 is tough, given the U.S. is still two elections away.