Nuclear Modernization Questions Loom After New START Extension
The treaty’s extension highlights its limits as well as its strengths.
By Patrick Tucker
Technology Editor
January 21, 2021
The Biden administration’s decision to extend the New START treaty wards off a strategic nuclear arms race — at least for the next half-decade — but plenty of other challenges remain in Russia’s new hypersonic missiles and smaller tactical nuclear weapons.
“This extension makes even more sense when the relationship with Russia is adversarial, as it is at this time. New START is the only remaining treaty constraining Russian nuclear forces and is an anchor of strategic stability between our two countries,†said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
John Kirby, chief Pentagon spokesman, said: “Extending the treaty’s limitations on stockpiles of strategic nuclear weapons until 2026 allows time and space for our two nations to explore new verifiable arms control arrangements that could further reduce risks to Americans. And the Department stands ready to support our colleagues in the State Department as they effect this extension and explore those new arrangements.â€
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2021/01/nuclear-modernization-questions-loom-after-new-start-extension/171561/
