The United States and Russia have agreed to a new Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty that will slash the levels of each side’s deployed nuclear warheads by about one third to a ceiling of 1,550 and nearly halve the number of their delivery systems (ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and nuclear-capable bombers) down to 800. President Obama on March 26 announced the new pact, calling it “the most comprehensive arms control agreement in nearly two decades.” He said the treaty includes “a strong and effective verification regime.” Further US officials say it places no constraints on US missile defenses and long-range conventional strike systems. Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are scheduled to sign the treaty on April 8 in Prague, Czech Republic. Already 41 Senators have coupled Senate ratification of the pact with the Administration’s submittal of an articulate plan for modernizing the US nuclear deterrent. (Obama remarks) (New START fact sheet) (Press briefing)
Weeks after senior Air Force leaders revealed the service would shed a number of the re-optimization initiatives pursued by their predecessors, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman confirmed the Space Force is retaining all of the space-specific elements of the strategy.
