JRL NEWSWATCH: “Prevent the outbreak of another global security threat. Extend New START.” – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists/ Daryl G. Kimball
“… New START … signed 10 years ago, verifiably caps each nation’s strategic nuclear arsenals at no more than 1,550 deployed warheads and 700 missile and bomber delivery platforms. The treaty has worked well for both sides. The latest data exchange mandated by the treaty shows Russia with 1,326 deployed warheads on 485 deployed delivery systems, while the United States currently deploys 1,373 warheads on 655 delivery systems. That is lowest Russian warhead total since the treaty entered into force in 2011. … New START will expire on February 5, 2021 unless US and Russian leaders agree to extend it. They can do so by mutual agreement for a period of up to five years. Before they do, the two sides may choose to meet to resolve potential differences regarding the legal modalities of treaty extension, which new strategic nuclear systems would continue to be covered by the treaty, and how New START’s on-site inspections and counting rules might be applied. …”