There are some incredibly irresponsible people out there. Here’s one making a very poor comparison between US nuking Japan in World War II and Israel’s options in Gaza. From the Kremlin to Congress, people are getting a little lax about that nuke thing!

Two months after joining NATO “without preconditions,” Swedish PM says he’s open to US deploying nukes in Sweden in wartime, but reaffirms not in peacetime. sverigesradio.se/artikel/kriste…

Unclear why he thinks why it would be necessary to deploy nukes in Sweden even in war. 🤔

Quite a photo of a Russian cruise missile loaded Tu-95 Bear bomber. From a training or missile attack against Ukraine?

Apparently it is the season for another bomber task force mission to Europe. Previous one was B-1s so perhaps this one will involve B-52s. 🧐

With Russia’s new defense minister, Putin is shrinking his bubble of yes-people to sink country deeper into self-inflicted war economy. 👇

OK, but while you’re at it, you need to take a closer look at cost in the nuclear modernization programs. This article sums it up: scientificamerican.com/article/nuclea…

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks

It would be ironic and tragic if voter “yearning for change and discontent over the economy and the war in Gaza among young, Black and Hispanic voters” end up putting an incompetent, authoritarian psychopath in the White House who will do nothing to improve these issues.

Nuclear modernization cost projections have ballooned over the past decade and are likely to continue to increase. Congress should improve and demand fiscal oversight and make hard decisions balancing costs with deterrence, argues Sharon Weiner. scientificamerican.com/article/nuclea… 👇

Over the past week, RC-135U Combat Sent (6414847) has been doing sweeps along Chinese coastline: 3 northeast and 1 south.

It collects electronic data to locate/identify radar signals to determine detailed operating characteristics and capabilities. af.mil/About-Us/Fact-…

Damaged B-2 Won’t Be Repaired, Fleet To Shrink To 19 Jets

The Air Force deeming one of its B-2s to be “uneconomical to repair” comes as it pushes ahead with work on the new B-21 Raider.

Story: twz.com/air/damaged-b-…

Great article by Christoph Koettl at the team at The New York Times about the suspected new Russian nuclear weapon storage site at Asipovichi in Belarus. Excellent imagery analysis. Honored to have contributed. As I comment, construction has clearly entered a new phase. nytimes.com/2024/05/10/wor…

A reminder that Russia still has nuclear torpedoes in its arsenal. 🙄

Don’t tell US nuke advocates; they’ll start arguing US needs one too to close an escalation option gap. 😁

Interesting report from DOD Inspector General on integration of the new B61-12 guided nuclear bomb on bombers/fighters. Includes helpful description of nuke certification process. dodig.mil/reports.html/A…

I’ve heard that the B61-12 is not yet in Europe but shipping soon.

We want to be seen! SUBGRU 9 at Kitsap sub base posts photos of USS Nebraska (SSBN-739) leaving under protective escort 6 May for a (presumably) nuke deterrent patrol in Pacific. facebook.com/10006470673941…

US SSBNs each carry average of about 90 warheads. tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.10…

Great to see FAS Global Risks Director Jon B. Wolfsthal 🟦🇨🇿 as part of ISAB at the nuke deterrence discussion at Belfer.

🥁 Our new Nuclear Notebook on US nuclear arsenal is out. Warhead numbers are largely unchanged (except for dismantlement of retired), but lots of developments on modernization, operations and secrecy:

PDF format tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.10…

Web format thebulletin.org/premium/2024-0…

👀 “certifying ALL F-35As for carrying US nuclear weapons”?

There are hundreds of F-35As, and more are coming. That would be a waste of resources and unlikely to change Russian behavior for the better. Messaging has to be real, credible, and balanced.

China is under treaty obligations, like the other four nuke states party to the NPT, to pursue nuke negotiations in good faith. The when-you-come-down-to-our-level-then-we-will-talk excuse is getting old as Beijing builds up its arsenal. Time to grow up! semafor.com/article/05/01/…