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You will find the latest information and some data from our previous website on all matters concerning US bases and in particular the issue of the US Missile Defense system. We are still working on some of the pages so we ask for your patience please. Click on the SITE MAP for a listing of all the pages. We suggest this is checked regularly as the site is updated frequently.
Obama weighs future of vast US nuclear arsenal
Khaleej Times – March 2, 2010
The United States maintains a vast nuclear arsenal that officials say President Barack Obama plans to scale back in a bid to promote arms control and prevent the spread of atomic weapons.
Here is a brief summary of the country’s array of nuclear weapons built up during the Cold War …
Warheads: The United States has about 2,200 “operational” nuclear warheads and an additional 2,500 warheads in reserve that can be activated if necessary. It also has 500 short-range “non-strategic” warheads, some of which are deployed at NATO bases in European countries.
With nuclear weapons based on land, long-range bombers and submarines, just about any target on the planet is within reach of the US arsenal.
ICBMs: The US military has 450 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, which have a range of 3,500 miles (5,500 kilometers). These missiles — based on land and on submarines — are armed with separate nuclear warheads, or multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), enabling a single missile to strike multiple targets. Scenarios for all-out nuclear war assume ICBMs as the primary weapon.
SLBMS: Submarine-launched ballistic missiles were developed to hide nuclear weapons from the Soviets, guaranteeing that any attack on the United States would result in massive retaliation. A US fleet of 14 Ohio-class submarines carry an estimated 288 ballistic missiles or 1,152 warheads — about 43 percent of the US “operational” arsenal. The nuclear-powered subs are equipped with the more recent Trident II D5 missiles, which have three types of warheads ranging from 100-kilotons to 455-kilotons.
Bombers: The US Air Force has about 500 nuclear weapons that can be launched with long-range bombers, the B-2A Spirit and B-52H Stratofortress aircraft. Analysts estimate that about 60 of the 113 long-range bombers are assigned to the nuclear mission. The planes can be armed with a B61-7 “strategic bomb” and a B83-1 high-yield bomb.
Shorter-Range Weapons: During the Cold War, both the Americans and Soviets developed shorter-range or “non-strategic” weapons, which carry less explosive power than the massive ICBMs. These weapons could be launched by troops on the battlefield to strike tactical objectives, and a significant number were deployed in Europe. The United States retains an estimated 500 tactical nuclear weapons, including more than 300 Tomahawk cruise missiles that can be fired from submarines, as well as gravity bombs — deployed in part at some NATO bases.
U.S. Missile Defenses Enhanced to Deal With Growing Threat, General Says
Global Security Newswire – March 4, 2010
A senior U.S. Defense Department official said the rising risk of missile attack has led the United States to pursue a concerted expansion of its missile defenses, the Washington Times reported today …
“We can’t get the genie back in the bottle … the threat is growing and proliferating … it is inherently unpredictable, and we need a flexible missile-defense program that is responsive,” the head of the Missile Defense Agency, Army Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly, said in recent remarks on the 2010 Ballistic Missile Defense Review.
An agency newsletter last week detailed the latest plans for fielding new land-and sea-based defenses across the globe. Plans encompass a program to deploy by October 30 long-range missile interceptors in Alaska and California.
Within two years, the Pentagon is expected to have another 10 naval vessels equipped with Aegis ballistic missile defense systems. Nineteen warships are already using the technology. By the end of this year, 20 Navy ships with 61 Standard Missile 3 interceptors are also anticipated to be deployed. …
Pacific Pushback: Has the U.S. Empire of Bases Reached Its High-Water Mark?
John Feffer – TomDispatch.com – March 4, 2010
For a country with a pacifist constitution, Japan is bristling with weaponry. Indeed, that Asian land has long functioned as a huge aircraft carrier and naval base for U.S. military power. We couldn’t have fought the Korean and Vietnam Wars without the nearly 90 military bases scattered around the islands of our major Pacific ally.
Even today, Japan remains the anchor of what’s left of America’s Cold War containment policy when it comes to China and North Korea. From the Yokota and Kadena air bases, the United States can dispatch troops and bombers across Asia, while the Yokosuka base near Tokyo is the largest American naval installation outside the United States.
You’d think that, with so many Japanese bases, the United States wouldn’t make a big fuss about closing one of them. Think again. The current battle over the Marine Corps air base at Futenma on Okinawa — an island prefecture almost 1,000 miles south of Tokyo that hosts about three dozen U.S. bases and 75% of American forces in Japan — is just revving up. …
What makes this so strange, on the surface, is that Futenma is an obsolete base. Under an agreement the Bush administration reached with the previous Japanese government, the U.S. was already planning to move most of the Marines now at Futenma to the island of Guam. …
Polish president gives the green light to US troops’ deployment in Poland
RT.com – Published 27 February, edited 02 March 2010
Polish President Lech Kaczynski has ratified the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the US, laying out the conditions for the deployment of US troops on Polish soil.
According to the agreement, about 100 American soldiers will service up to eight US Patriot missile launchers that are to be integrated into Poland’s national security system. Once American soldiers are based in Poland, they will be subject to Polish law.
The SOFA agreement also regulates the rules by which American transport can enter Poland and the principles of compensation to Polish citizens if any harm is caused to them by the actions of American troops. A temporary US base is to start operations at the end of March–beginning of April this year, and in 2012 it is to become permanent.
| Nuclear debate: Paul Ingram on the NPT Review Conference |
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Speaking from Wilton Park, BASIC’s Executive Director Paul Ingram gives his vision of success for the May 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). |
In 1997 the American base at Menwith Hill was designated to be the European Ground Relay Station for SBIRS. Construction started in 1999 and two SBIRS satellite receiving dishes were meant to come ‘on line’ in 2000.
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