Nevada National Security Sites: 75 years. One mission.
NNSS advances U.S. security with science, training, and stewardship to protect the nation.
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Trump wants to stop nuclear proliferation. STRATCOM could play a major role.
Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, argues that the US needs to carry a new "big stick."
10 Breaking Defense op-eds that defined 2025
It's been a whirlwind of a year — and the defense establishment has plenty of thoughts on how it's unfolded and what might come next.
How South Korea can deter North Korea’s nuclear gambit with precision air and naval power
To be prepared against North Korea's nuclear capabilities, South Korea should be prepared to execute preemptive, conventional strikes, argues Ju Hyung Kim of the Security Management Institute.
Don’t let Iran walk free from the NPT
Henry Sokolski lays out recommendations on how to deter Iran, and other nations, from withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Twin political paths President Trump can take to ensure nuclear deterrence
"The fundamental point, though, at least in the short term, would be for Trump to send a political message to Russia via allied consultations that American security is indivisible from NATO," writes Kyle Balzer of AEI in this op-ed.
Allvin: It’s make or break time. America needs more Air Force.
In an exclusive for Breaking Defense, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin makes the case for why the US needs to invest in the future of his service.
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Powering the future: Securing America with domestically made microelectronics
Onshoring and investment in military-specific semiconductors anchor a cornerstone of the defense industrial base.
Putin’s new nuclear doctrine: It’s my arsenal and I’ll strike if I want to
In a new analysis, expert William Alberque says Putin's new nuclear doctrine says "that any nation aligned with a nuclear state, or any state receiving assistance from any nuclear state or state aligned with a nuclear state — i.e., all of NATO — can be the target of nuclear weapons if Russia feels threatened."
Into the unknown: Managing conventional and nuclear uncertainty in the Indo-Pacific
"Rather than dismiss, ignore, or overlook conventional-nuclear integration discussions, US operational leaders must understand that China’s nuclear future is dangerous and uncertain, and that the United States is ill-prepared for this ambiguous future," write two CNAS experts.
EXCLUSIVE: F-35A officially certified to carry nuclear bomb
The designation marks the first time that a stealth fighter can carry a nuclear weapon, in this case the B61-12 thermonuclear gravity bomb.
SLCM-N and the deterrence value of ambiguity
In this op-ed, Kyle Balzer argues that developing a new nuclear sea-launched cruise missile is imperative to deterring China and Russia.
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Data overload threatens decisionmakers as autonomy expands
Reducing cognitive overload on warfighters while improving “time to trust” for autonomous systems is a matter of design.
How (not) to reorganize the Air Force
After a top Air Force official strongly hinted at coming changes to the Air Force's structure, Adam Lowther and Curtis McGiffin warn that one particular option would be bad news for America's nuclear readiness.
Inconsistent acquisition authorities for nuclear weapons are harming modernization
CSIS’s Sarah Mineiro argues that bureaucracy is endangering the well-being of the most powerful weapons on the planet.
Austin at STRATCOM: nuclear powers must avoid ‘irresponsible’ threats
During a roundtable with reporters a STRATCOM representative said recent comments by Russia's Vladimir Putin "wanted to message that he would not take first strike off the table.”
Idaho National Labs to build Pentagon’s mobile ‘nuclear microreactor’
The Strategic Capabilities Office is considering engineering designs by BWXT Advanced Technologies, LLC, and X-energy, LLC. One design will be selected and announced this spring.