USAF Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies (CUWS) Outreach Journal CUWS Outreach Journal 1185 2 October 2015 Feature Item: “Satellites, Warheads and Rockets: Is North Korea’s Space Program Really about Missile Development?” Authored by John Schilling; published by 38 North.org; 28 September 2015. http://38north.org/2015/09/schilling092815/ When the Soviet Union shocked the world and opened the Space Age on October 4, 1957, it was not a coincidence that its first satellite was launched into orbit on a modified R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). For many observers, that was the message of Sputnik—the rocket that did this, can deliver hydrogen bombs to your cities. Nor was the message sent only once. The first 96 Soviet satellite launches were conducted using modified ICBMs, before Russian engineers bothered to design a rocket specifically for space missions. China still hasn’t bothered to field a space launch vehicle (SLV) that isn’t also a ballistic missile. On the other side of the world, every ICBM design the United States has ever put into service has been adapted to launch satellites at some time or another. So when North Korea launched its first satellite on December 12, 2012, many observers thought the message was clear: the rocket that did this, can deliver atomic bombs to your cities. And indeed it can. But is this really the purpose of the Unha-3? Is it an ICBM masquerading as an SLV, or an SLV that might someday be repurposed as a missile? There is precedent for both. Or, as Pyongyang claims, is the Unha-3 intended purely for peaceful space exploration? U.S. Nuclear Weapons 1. US Poised to Station Nukes in Estonia? 2. No New US Nuclear Weapon Elements at German Airbase — Ambassador 3. Timeout Called on Talks in Pantex Plant Strike 4. Frank Munger: Y-12 Workers Keeping Watch on Pantex U.S. Counter-WMD 1. Polish Parliament Greenlights Deal on US Anti-Missile Base 2. US Not Looking for Balance of Interests with Russia on Missile Shield Issues — Lavrov U.S. Arms Control 1. Rail Phantom: Russia Developing Invisible 'Death Trains' With Nukes 2. Russian Nuclear Sub Carrying Bulava Missiles Arrives in Kamchatka 3. Nuclear Sub Vladimir Monomakh to Be Transferred to Russia's Pacific Fleet in 2016 Homeland Security/The Americas 1. Bomber Paves Way for USAF Acquisition Shift 2. Air Force Delays New Bomber Contract by ‘Couple of Months’ Issue No.1185, 2 October 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 Maxwell AFB, Alabama Asia/Pacific 1. Analyst: North Korean Military's Status Declining under Kim Jong Un 2. N. Korea Slams S. Korea for Infringing upon Right to Launch Satellite 3. Additional 150,000 US Troops Necessary if N. Korea Collapses: US Think Tank 4. North Korea’s Envoy to Britain: Pyongyang Ready to Launch ‘Satellite’ into Space at Any Time 5. Seoul to Develop 800km Missile by 2017 6. Despite Predictions, Still No Detectable Moves toward North Korea Rocket Launch 7. Sources: North Korean Train Transported Mystery Shipment to Missile Launch Site 8. DPRK Seeks US Peace Treaty to Normalize Ties with Washington, UN 9. Long March-11 Built Based on China's Ballistic Missiles: Expert Europe/Russia 1. Corbyn Suffers Humiliating Defeat as Labour REFUSES to Even Consider his Plan to Scrap Britain's Nuclear Deterrent 2. Russian Navy to Get 2nd Yasen Class Nuclear Sub One Year Behind Schedule — Source 3. Putin Expresses Doubt about Running for President for 4th Time 4. Jeremy Corbyn: I Would Never Use Nuclear Weapons if I Were PM Middle East 1. Head of Space Agency: Orbiting Home-Made Satellites Iran's Priority 2. Iran Warns US to Avoid Obstruction of JCPOA 3. Special Commission to Release Final Report on JCPOA on Sunday: MP 4. Pentagon Caught Surprised By Iraq's Intelligence-Sharing Accord with Russia, Iran, Syria 5. Iranian Legislators Protest at Zarif-Obama Handshaking 6. Iranian MPs Urge Administration to Meet National Interests in Nuclear Agreement 7. Iran to Allow No More IAEA Visit to Parchin: Shamkhani 8. Leader Urges Enhanced Military Preparedness 9. Israel Says Won't Allow Iran to Join 'Nuclear Weapons Club' Commentary 1. Atomic Nightmare: Welcome to Pakistani Nuclear Weapons 101 2. Welcome to North Korean Nuclear Weapons 101 3. How Moscow Forces Washington's Hand (Op-Ed) 4. America Needs a Global Missile Defense Plan Return to Top Sputnik International – Russian Information Agency US Poised to Station Nukes in Estonia? 26 September 2015 In a potentially provocative move, the US has deployed a number of its nuclear-capable A-10 ground attack planes in Estonia in direct vicinity of the Russian border. The A-10 “tank busters” arrived at the Ämari Air Base as part of a flying training deployment in support of NATO’s Operation Atlantic Resolve on August 22. Issue No.1185, 2 October 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 Moscow, defense expert and political analyst Ivan Konovalov described the stationing of US ground attack aircraft close to the Russian border as nothing short of a provocation. “We have to see whether these A-10s are going to be armed with nuclear weapons… The Americans have around 200 B61 nuclear bombs scattered across Europe. Bringing them to Estonia would cause a major scandal. Russia will be the first to protest. Defending a country’s airspace is one thing, but ground attack planes target ground forces. Is somebody expecting a ground invasion there?” Ivan Konovalov told Sputnik on Friday. Konovalov said he expected a further buildup of NATO and US forces close to Russia’s borders. The Estonian government has offered the Ämari base as a facility to be used to conduct NATO’s Baltic Air Policing patrols. In April 2014 the mission began with the arrival of four Danish F-16s. In September 2015, several Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighters were deployed at Ämari. http://www.sputniknews.com/europe/20150926/1027580647/estonia-planes-analyst.html Return to Top TASS Russian News Agency – Moscow, Russia No New US Nuclear Weapon Elements at German Airbase — Ambassador The diplomat noted that expired components of deployed nuclear weapons are being replaced in order to keep the weapons in safe condition September 28, 2015 MOSCOW, September 28. /TASS/. The US is replacing old components on nuclear weapons at the Buchel air base in south-west Germany and no new arms are being deployed, Germany’s ambassador to Russia told a TASS news conference on Monday. "There’s nothing new here, as this is not the expansion of what is there. This concerns the replacement of those components the service dates of which have expired," Ruediger Freiherr von Fritsch said in comments to media reports. The diplomat stressed that "this serves the goals of keeping the weapons in safe condition. "This is in everyone’s interests," he said. Germany’s ZDF television reported earlier this month that the Buchel airbase in Rheinland-Pfalz federal land has launched preparations for the deployment of new US nuclear bombs of the B61-12 type. The TV channel said some 20 new nuclear bombs have the total explosive power 80 times greater than that of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Japan’s Hiroshima in 1945. http://tass.ru/en/defense/824154 Return to Top Issue No.1185, 2 October 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 Maxwell AFB, Alabama Longview News-Journal – Longview, TX Timeout Called on Talks in Pantex Plant Strike September 29, 2015 AMARILLO — Federal mediators have ordered a brief break in labor talks as a strike at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant near Amarillo reached the one-month mark. Scot Beckenbaugh, deputy director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, said the break would give officials from the Metal Trades Council and Pantex operating contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security an opportunity to review information. Both sides will resume talks later this week, but he said a time and place haven't been decided. Saturday marked the 30th day of the strike, which began when the labor council rejected a management proposal to compare Pantex workers' benefits with those of other Texas Panhandle businesses. Metal Trades Council members Aug. 8 voted down a four-year contract proposal from Consolidated Nuclear Security. http://www.news-journal.com/news/2015/sep/29/timeout-called-on-talks-in-pantex-plant-strike/ Return to Top Knoxville News Sentinel – Knoxville, TN Frank Munger: Y-12 Workers Keeping Watch on Pantex By Frank Munger October 2, 2015 As noted in previous reports, the ongoing labor situation at the Pantex nuclear weapons plant in Texas has ramifications at Pantex’s sister plant, Y-12, in Oak Ridge. About 1,100 union workers have been on strike at Pantex since late August, a work stoppage that’s tied mostly to concerns about proposed changes in the benefits packages. Workers represented by the Metal Trades Council twice rejected “best-and-final” contract offers from Consolidated Nuclear Security — the government’s managing contractor at both plants. Meanwhile, in Oak Ridge, about 1,100 union workers at Y-12 are awaiting the start of negotiations between CNS and the Atomic Trades and Labor Council, and they’re keeping watch on happenings at Pantex.