• U.S. Has a Stockpile of 3,750 Nuclear Warheads

    The United States has disclosed the number of nuclear weapons in its arsenal for the first time since former President Donald Trump decided to keep the figures a secret. At the height of the cold war, in 1967, the U.S. nuclear stockpile reached its peak; 31,255 warheads.

  • Bolstering Speed, Flexibility of Response to Nuclear Events

    Researchers are combining basic research and development of emergent technologies, predictive capabilities, and systems assessment to revolutionize the speed and flexibility of technical nuclear forensic (TNF) response to nuclear events.

  • IAEA: Iran Denying Monitoring Access at “Indispensable” Site

    The IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, says Iran has not allowed international inspectors access to a centrifuge-component-manufacturing workshop as agreed under a monitoring deal reached two weeks ago.

  • Irreversible: Iran’s Nukes

    In 2018 the Trump administration withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran, which the Obama administration had signed in 2015. David Albright and Sarah Burkhard of Institute for Science and International Security write that Iran’s nuclear capabilities now greatly exceed their status in early 2016, when the nuclear deal was implemented. Iran’s breakout time, namely the time needed to produce enough weapon-grade uranium for a single nuclear weapon or explosive device, is on order of one month, which was Iran’s breakout time in late 2014, before the nuclear deal was signed.

  • As the West Watches, Iran Enriches Uranium

    Iran may now be capable of producing enough weapons-grade uranium for a single nuclear warhead within just a month. While Iran continues to make progress enriching uranium, nuclear diplomacy seems to be stalled.

  • IAEA Monitors Allowed to Service Cameras at Sensitive Nuclear Sites

    An agreement has been reached between Iran and the IAEA to allow international inspectors to service surveillance cameras at Iran’s sensitive nuclear sites and to continue filming there. The agreement, announced Sunday, averts a diplomatic showdown this week.

  • RadSecure 100 Radiological Security Initiative Launched in 100 U.S. Cities

    The RadSecure 100 Initiative focuses on removing radioactive material from facilities where feasible and improving security at the remaining facilities located in 100 metropolitan areas throughout the United States. Partnerships with local medical facilities, industrial firms, and law enforcement will be key to the project.

  • Iran's Uranium Metal Production Concerns U.S.

    Report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna to member nations noted inspectors have confirmed Iran produced 200 grams of uranium metal enriched up to 20 percent. Uranium metal can be used to build the core of a nuclear bomb.

  • With Redesigned “Brains,” W88 Nuclear Warhead Reaches Milestone

    The W88 nuclear warhead entered the stockpile in late 1988 and is deployed on the Navy’s Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missile system onboard Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. The weapon was beyond its original design life, and several updates were required to address aging issues and to maintain its current state of readiness.

  • International Nuclear Forensics Group Examines Nuclear Security Challenges

    The Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group (ITWG) was established in 1995 when nuclear materials were being smuggled out of the former Soviet Union and into Europe. Last month the ITWG held its annual meeting virtually.

  • Iran “10 Weeks Away” from Weapon-Grade Uranium

    Israel’s defense Minister Benny Gantz to foreign diplomats that Iran is now only ten weeks away – if it decided to move forward – from enriching sufficient quantities of uranium to weapon-grade level, so that it would have available the fissile material needed for a nuclear weapon.

  • Iran’s Strategic Challenge to Israel

    In a report prepared for the newly elected president of Israel, the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) highlights the main strategic challenges facing Israel and policy recommendations for addressing those challenges.

  • Investigating Materials for Safe, Secure Nuclear Power

    A longstanding interest in radiation’s effects on metals has drawn Michael Short into new areas such as nuclear security and microreactors.

  • New Weapons Testing Capability Produces Richer Data, Saves Time, Cost

    A team of Sandia National Laboratories engineers developed a new testing capability in support of the lab’s nuclear weapons mission. The new weapons testing capability produces richer data, and saves time and cost. “Superfuge” test combines multiple environments on a full-scale weapons system.

  • U.S. Concerned About Report China is Expanding Missile Silos

    Using images provided by the satellite imaging company Planet, researchers found that China is building 119 silos in the desert of the northwestern province of Gansu.The expansion of the number of launch silos for China’s arsenal of intercontinental range ballistic missiles raises fears that nuclear weapons will become a new issue of contention between Washington and Beijing.