Beryllium (Be) from Element Displays US intelligence reports that Iran imported large quantities of beryllium, which can be combined with polonium-210 (Po-210) to initiate a nuclear chain reaction, appear to be false. The revelation undermines a key claim used by the Bush Administration to raise questions about Iran’s intentions and the integrity of IAEA Director-General …
DF-31 is NOT deployed, got that?
by | 2005-01-21 | 1 Comment
Bill Gertz, reporting with Rowan Scarborough in his latest Inside the Ring column, states: China has deployed a brigade of up to eight new road-mobile DF-31 long-range missiles. That’s the latest assessment from the authoritative International Institute for Strategic Studies publication, “The Military Balance.” [snip] The assessment that eight DF-31s are operational goes beyond the …
Saving Space Based Interceptors?
by | 2005-01-21 | No Comments
Zapping Space-Based Interceptors? Not so fast. MDA Director Henry “Trey” Obering wants to keep as many missile defense programs alive as possible, including programs for space-based missile defense interceptors, despite looming budget cuts. With the Missile Defense Agency facing a total program cut of $ 5 billion over FY 2006-2011, informed speculation centered on the …
How Many Chinese Nuclear Weapons Redux 3
by | 2005-01-20 | No Comments
The Chinese government has now made a little noticed step toward nuclear transparency. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, in April 2004, released a fact sheet entitled China: Nuclear Disarmament and Reduction … that states: Among the nuclear-weapon states, China has performed the least number of nuclear tests and possesses the smallest nuclear arsenal. Not more than …
