Nuclear Strategy Project (1992 – 2003)

nsplogo-frontThe Nuclear Strategy Project is a public education project that examines the status and development of nuclear policy and doctrine in the United States and other nuclear-armed and nuclear-aspiring countries.

Through publication of hard-to-get information about nuclear weapons and nuclear strategy, the project aspires to increase government accountability and empower those who argue for true reform of nuclear strategy and much deeper cuts in nuclear weapons.

Project director Hans M. Kristensen, who analyzes and publishes declassified documents obtained through the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, co-authors the World Nuclear Forces appendix to the SIPRI Yearbook and the Nuclear Notebook column in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

The items listed in the bar below provide links to groups of documents about specific aspects of nuclear weapons and nuclear policy.

(September 2002)
“Preemptive posturing
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

(May 27, 2002)
12 Million Could Die at Once in an India-Pakistan Nuclear War
The New York Times

Nuclear Strategy

4th Fighter Wing Nuclear Planning, 1998

Following the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from South Korea in 1991, the US military has reorganized its nuclear planning against North Korea. Nuclear strike planning in support of operation plans (OPLAN) and other contingencies has been transferred to the 4th Fighter Wing based at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina. In case the […]

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Advisory Groups

The command in chief of Strategic Command (CINCSTRAT) and the nuclear CINCs use a number of advisory groups to conduct ongoing analysis and coordination of force structure and policy issues and provide recommendations for the future direction of the nuclear posture. Two of the most important groups are the Strategic Advisory Group (SAG), which provides […]

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US Strategic Command Force Structure Studies

As the unified command in charge of U.S. nuclear forces, U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) periodically conducted force structure studies during the 1990s to assess the impact that arms control, new weapons, and world changes on the nation’s security and the viability of the Single Integrated Operating Plan (SIOP) and other nuclear war plans. These studies […]

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US FOIA Documents Nuclear Strategy and War Planning

The US nuclear posture has undergone considerable reform in the first decade following the end of the Cold War. The number of nuclear weapons has been reduced, the remaining weapons upgraded, and the infrastructure that supports nuclear war planning has been modernized to make the nuclear posture relevant to the post-Cold War world. The Bush […]

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TMD Planning In Korea

This page describes an 1998 7th Air Force briefing on Theater Missile Defense (TMD) in Korea. The document was partially declassified and released under the Freedom of Information Act and describes the TMD “strategy we are employing on the Korean Peninsula.” The briefing examines how the US detects and warns CFC (Korean-US Combined Forces Command) […]

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Analysis and Articles

The titles below provide links to various reports and articles that describe US nuclear planning as it has occurred in the 1990s: Hans M. Kristensen and Joshua Handler, “Nuclear Forces 2001,” SIPRI Yearbook 2001, (forthcoming) Hans M. Kristensen, “The Elusive Foe: China in US Nuclear War Planning,” The Nautilus Institute, Berkeley, CA, February 2001. (forthcoming) […]

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Nuclear Submarines

Information about submarine operations are among some of the most tightly held secrets. Requests for information are frequently denied for no other reason than they concern submarine operations. The items below provide links to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act and other publications that provide information about submarine operations. FOIA documents >> US Department […]

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US Korean Nuclear Relations

4th Fighter Wing Nuclear Planning, 1998 Following the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from South Korea in 1991, the US military has reorganized its nuclear planning against North Korea. Nuclear strike planning in support of operation plans (OPLAN) and other contingencies has been transferred to the 4th Fighter Wing based at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in […]

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Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons

The U.S. has two types of non-strategic nuclear weapons: the B61 bomb and the Tomahawk sea-launched cruise missile. Approximately 800 B61s exist in three versions, while 320 W80 warheads are available for the Tomahawk. None of these warheads are covered by existing arms control agreements. Non-strategic B61 bombs are assigned to US F-16C/D, F-15E, and […]

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The Nautilus Institute Nuclear Strategy Project: The Warfighter’s Assessment Post-START II Arms Restrictions

In December 1996, a few months after the White Paper on post-START II arms control was completed and only a few months before the U.S. and Russia agreed in Helsinki to a START III Treaty of 2,000-2,500 warheads, STRATCOM published the results of another force structure study on post START II arms reductions. As with […]

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