DefenceTalkOver the past several weeks as events in Crimea and eastern Ukraine have unfolded, the world has had a chance to see the new Russian defense strategy and force posture in action. Russian President Vladimir Putin has successfully finessed his country’s myriad of weaknesses – economic, political, demographic and military – in ways that permit […]https://www.defencetalk.com/special-forces-and-nuclear-weapons-the-new-russian-military-threat-59385/

DefenceTalkThe US Air Force said Thursday it sacked nine nuclear missile officers and will discipline dozens of others over an exam cheating scandal that has sparked concerns about lax ethics. The officers, including chiefs of four squadrons, were all working at Malmstrom Air Force base in Montana, which has been rocked by cheating allegations that […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-air-force-fires-nine-in-nuclear-missile-cheating-scandal-59157/

DefenceTalkConsolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) will resume its transition to manage and operate the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, and Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., effective immediately. CNS, which includes Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI), Lockheed Martin Services, Inc., ATK Launch Systems Inc., SOC LLC, and teaming subcontractor […]https://www.defencetalk.com/lockheed-martin-resume-transition-of-us-nuclear-facility-management-58972/

DefenceTalkIran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany began talks on Tuesday in Vienna on reaching a comprehensive nuclear deal. Iran is under UN and Western sanctions because of suspicions — denied by Tehran — that it wants to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian program. It […]https://www.defencetalk.com/irans-comprehensive-nuclear-accord-a-big-deal-58810/

DefenceTalkRecent satellite imagery suggests North Korea has stepped up excavation work at its main nuclear test site, but there are no signs of an imminent test, a US think-tank said Friday. The images indicate a “significant acceleration in excavation activity” at the remote Punggye-ri test site in the northeast, said the closely-followed 38 North website […]https://www.defencetalk.com/excavation-at-north-korea-nuclear-test-site-us-think-tank-58787/

DefenceTalkIran said Wednesday it would not accept longstanding allegations that its nuclear program once had a military dimension without seeing the secret documents on which the charges are based. “We will not accept any of the (International Atomic Energy) Agency allegations unless its documents are proven and the person who presented them clarifies on what […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iran-demands-proof-of-nuclear-weapons-allegations-50697/

DefenceTalkThe US military has suspended 34 officers in charge of launching nuclear missiles for cheating on a proficiency test, Air Force leaders said Wednesday. The scandal at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana marked the latest in a series of damaging revelations dogging the country’s nuclear force, including a separate probe into illegal drugs that […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-suspends-34-nuclear-missile-officers-over-exam-cheating-50110/

DefenceTalkThe United States plans to spend $1 trillion on upgrading and maintaining its nuclear arsenal over the next 30 years, but delays in replacing current systems threaten to weaken US nuclear deterrence, according to a new independent study. “The new procurement schedule still entails significant programmatic risks and will likely result in even higher costs, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-to-spend-1-trillion-on-nukes-but-payoff-unclear-study-50058/

DefenceTalkNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said Wednesday the Korean peninsula would be engulfed by “massive nuclear disaster” if war breaks out there again, warning the US it will not be safe in the event of a conflict. “If the war breaks out again in this land, it will bring about a massive nuclear disaster and […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-warns-of-nuclear-disaster-threatens-us-50012/

DefenceTalkMexican authorities scrambled Wednesday to find a stolen truck containing “extremely dangerous” radioactive material used in medical treatment, officials said. The white Volkswagen Worker truck was transporting a “teletherapy source” containing cobalt-60 when it was stolen in the central Hidalgo state town of Tepojaco, north of Mexico City, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. The […]https://www.defencetalk.com/truck-with-dangerous-radioactive-material-stolen-in-mexico-49831/