Nuclear Weapons & Global Security
Our scientists and policy experts work to reduce some of the biggest security threats facing the world today, including the risks posed by nuclear weapons, nuclear terrorism, and space weapons. We work with scientists around the globe to increase international understanding of these issues and to foster and strengthen efforts to increase international security.
Features
North Korean Missiles: Ideas for a Diplomatic Approach to Elimination (October 2009)
Anaylsis of Obama Decision on European Missile Defense (September 2009)
Open Letter to President Obama and Prime Minister Hatoyama on Nuclear Policy (September 2009)
Open Letter to President Obama on Nuclear Weapons (September 2009)
Successes
Recent successes in Nuclear Weapons & Global Security include:
- Joint letter from prominent scientists urging the Obama administration to issue a directive that the United States will not deploy any part of the proposed U.S. missile defense system in Europe before it is proven effective under real-world operating conditions
- Statement signed by prominent physicists, including 23 Nobel Prize winners, supported our recommendations on an eventual ban on all nuclear weapons
- Generated national media attention with ad on reducing nuclear weapons
- UCS analysis helped persuade Congress to eliminate funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead program, scale back plan to rebuild U.S. nuclear weapons complex, and to make deep cuts in budget for proposed Global Nuclear Energy Partnership program
- Educated policy makers about how a "test bed" for space weapons could lead to new arms race in space and convinced Congress to deny funding for program
- Celebrated twentieth anniversary of our international summer symposium which educates young scientists around the world on arms control and security issues.
- Continued to educate policy makers, military officers, the media, and public about China's space program
Analysis
Toward True Security: Ten Steps The Next President Should Take to Transform U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy
A new report co-written by UCS staff and board members, and other independent experts (February 13, 2008)
The Physics of Space Security: A Reference Manual, a UCS-authored report, published in May 2005 by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS).
Technical Realities: An Analysis of the U.S. National Missle Defense System
The ballistic missile defense system that the United States will deploy later this year will have no demonstrated defensive capability and will be ineffective against a real attack by long-range ballistic missiles.
Campaigns
Demand Serious U.S. Leadership on Nuclear Weapons
Nuclear weapons are a grave and growing danger to humanity. An increasing number of experts agree that bold, urgent steps are needed to curtail and control the spread of nuclear weapons and the material and technology to make them. Join with the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Campaign for a Nuclear Weapons Free World, and citizens across the country in signing the Be Free petition to urge President Obama to fulfill his campaign commitment to make the world safer by reducing the threat of nuclear weapons.
Resources
UCS Satellite Database
A free, searchable, easy-to-use database of more than 900 active satellites with detailed information about each. (Updated October 2009)
Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator animation
See why a nuclear "bunker buster" would not contain radioactive fallout and could instead kill millions of civilians.
Countermeasures animation
This animation shows how the proposed missile defense system can be defeated by simple countermeasures. (RealVideo)
