Hans Kristensen
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nukestrat.bsky.social
Hans Kristensen
@nukestrat.bsky.social

Director, Nuclear Information Project, Federation of American Scientists. Tracking nuclear arsenals, co-author of Nuclear Notebook, SIPRI Yearbook. Opinions my own.
Website: https://fas.org/initiative/nuclear-information-project/ .. more

Hans Møller Kristensen is director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. He writes about nuclear weapons policy there; he is coauthor of the Nuclear Notebook column in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and the World Nuclear Forces appendix in Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's annual SIPRI Yearbook. .. more

Political science 75%
Engineering 9%
Pinned
🥁Our latest Nuclear Notebook is public: Pakistan Nuclear Weapons, 2025. It describes developments for missile launchers, cruise missiles, and aircraft. Published in the @BulletinAtomic and available for free in PDF www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.... and web format thebulletin.org/premium/2025...

Reposted by Edgar Morgenroth

Imagine - after you have fought a brutal invader for almost 4 years who has killed tens of thousands of your people and ravished your country - that an orange man far away declares you have to surrender territory to the invader who will get immunity. apnews.com/article/ukra... 🤮
Ukraine peace plan darkens the mood across a war-torn nation
A proposed peace plan for Ukraine led by the United States has been met with anguish by many Ukrainians, who fear a post-war amnesty for Russian forces would erase accountability for alleged atrocitie...
apnews.com

More background from WP: White House blew past legal concerns in deadly strikes on drug boats www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
White House blew past legal concerns in deadly strikes on drug boats
The Trump administration sidestepped skeptical lawyers across national security agencies as it pursued a military campaign against alleged narcotraffickers, officials say.
www.washingtonpost.com

That fact that legal concern by the top JAG of a military command about whether Trump’s boat killings in the Caribbean are legal can be brushed aside www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat... makes me wonder if pledges to abide by international law in nuclear planning would also be brushed aside.
Top military lawyer raised legal concerns about boat strikes
The lawyer at U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the operations against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela, disagreed that the strikes are legal and was overruled, according to six sources...
www.nbcnews.com

Honored to speak at Niels Bohr Institute event yesterday on nuclear threats. Great discussion with Frank von Hippel (image), @tongzhao.bsky.social, @russianforces.org, Rebecca Slayton.

A warm-up for the Open World Conference next 3 days at University of Copenhagen. openworld.ku.dk

Scientists have analysed 10,000 marine animal autopsies to understand how plastic ingestion leads to death. They were surprised by how little plastic can be dangerous. www.bbc.com/news/article...

This is what happens when you toss plastic or don’t pick up what’s there.
From seabirds to sea turtles: the fatal toll of plastic revealed
A new study pinpoints the deadly thresholds of plastic ingestion for marine life.
www.bbc.com

After having scaled back environmental regulations and made it easier for industry to pollute the air, the Trump regime now wants to strip federal protections about 85 percent of all wetlands in the United States. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/c...
E.P.A. Rule Would Drastically Curb Protections for Wetlands
www.nytimes.com

As the Trump regime is hyping immigration threat to divert attention from real problems and carrying out Rambo-style photo-op stunts in US cities, NYT investigation finds this has diverted resources from real threats. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...
Homeland Security Missions Falter Amid Focus on Deportations
www.nytimes.com

Today saw two B-52Hs bombers (60-0059 and 60-0062) taking off from Morón Air Base in Spain for a Middle East mission. 60-0059 returned to Morón, but 60-0062 continued to Qatar and is now over Saudi Arabia. The third (61-0036) flew 2 missions over northern Europe last week.

Japan’s new PM is getting poor advice. US didn’t need to deploy nukes in Japan to deter during Cold War (Okinawa was emptied when it reverted to Japanese control). Tokyo turned blind eye to nukes on ships. No need to change: 3 no’s allow for consultation. www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-as...
Japan PM Takaichi wavers on nuclear arms question in sign of possible shift
Anti-nuclear groups in Japan say Tokyo is morally bound to oppose nuclear weapons after the WWII bombings. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.
www.straitstimes.com

While slashing government agencies and programs, laying off tens of thousands of people in the name of “government efficiency,” the Trump-Hegseth strongman stunt of renaming Department of Defense to Department of War could cost up to $2 billion. www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...

That’s where the FANU squadron is based.

Pakistan seems to be sliding into military autocracy. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Pakistan's army chief gets more powers and lifelong immunity
Critics say the move, which entrenches the military's hold on power, paves the way toward autocracy.
www.bbc.com

If you suspect Golden Dome to be crazy, exorbitantly expensive, unrealistic, and deeply destabilizing, you’re right. And it looks like a sure way to create a space race that will threaten civilian (and military) use of space even more. breakingdefense.com/2025/11/gold...
Golden Dome SBIs will need to be defended from adversary attack: Experts - Breaking Defense
The satellites will need to be defended "not only from adversary kinetic or local orbital issues, but also from cyber attacks, electronic jamming and laser attacks," said Patrick Binning, a professor ...
breakingdefense.com

Important to note that the French nuclear cruise missiles are not deployed on the aircraft carrier under normal circumstances but stored on land for deployment in war.

His point is about spread of fallshood, not that people can’t disagree and point it out.

Two days after a B-52 flew over Finland and Baltic states, the same bomber (61-0036) is back. Part of a pair? Currently heading north after doing loops near Kaliningrad.

With the INF treaty gone, Russia firing INF-range missiles into Ukraine, NATO is seeking INF-range missile able to reach far into Russia. An INF-range missile arms race is in full swing. www.iiss.org/globalassets...

The new arms race: “The more fact-checking expanded, the more sophisticated the falsehoods became. It is an arms race between truth and lies, and so far, truth is losing ground.”

@glennkessler.bsky.social speech about spread of falsehood and war on truth. glennkessler.substack.com/p/my-speech-...

Congratulations to @blueorigin on the successful launch of New Glenn and booster landing. Very impressive! Great to see Musk getting some competition! www.youtube.com/live/ecfxcTE...

In August, USAF carried out series of “stockpile flight tests” of the new B61-12 guided nuke bomb from F-35 jets. www.sandia.gov/labnews/2025...

B61-12, which can be used by both tactical and strategic aircraft, was deployed to Europe last year. More here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

After Trump’s uninformed and counterproductive nuclear test threat, it sure is timely to see this National Security Science magazine from LANL:
cdn.lanl.gov/files/nss-wi... (h/t @casillic.bsky.social).

He should read it. It has lots of pictures.

How timely! 👍

Reports about Trump regime’s escalating war on the homeland. Escalating military-style raids on neighborhoods, hyping/politicizing crime, spreading misinformation and glorifying videos, demonizing immigrants, undermining rights.

> www.ap.org/news-highlig...

> www.propublica.org/article/chic...
In Chicago, an immense show of force signals a sharp escalation in White House immigration crackdown | The Associated Press
The music begins low and ominous, with the video showing searchlights skimming along a Chicago apartment building and heavily armed immigration
www.ap.org

France’s life-extended nuke cruise missile (ASMPA-R) has become operational on the aircraft carrier-based Rafael with a test flight today. The missile is already in service with the Air Force.

France is also developing an advanced nuke missile. More here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

State Department deleted records about risk of inadvertent nuclear war from foreign relations publication - records that are still available in public. Trump fired independent committee tasked to oversee the records and seeks to replace it with loyalists. www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Analysis | State Department deleted records about risk of inadvertent nuclear war
Key historical records about the incident during the Regan administration, known as the Able Archer 83 War Scare, were removed without explanation.
www.washingtonpost.com

No because this bomber (61-0036) is not nuclear-capable but has been converted to only carry conventional weapons.
"what began as a way to increase the pace of deportations has come to look like a national police force, answerable to the president, that is at least as focused on bullying the residents of Democrat-run cities as it is on deporting undocumented migrants" www.economist.com/interactive/...
See how Donald Trump is creating his own police force
Immigration agents are operating in cities with few legal constraints
www.economist.com

Finnish Air Force confirmed B-52 over Finland where it conducted simulated weapons drops on the Sotinputo range. x.com/finnishairfo...

60-0036 is part of Bomber Task Force recently deployed to Morón. Today’s mission part of strengthening air ops in Northern region. ac.nato.int/archive/2025...

After heading northeast from Moron AB in Spain to eastern part of Finland, a B-52H (61-0036) - possibly one of a pair - is currently tracking over eastern Estonia. Part of a larger exercise involving reconnaissance, control, fighters, tankers. The B-52 is conventional-only.

In addition to pardoning over 1,000 who attacked Congress in 2021, including hundreds who assaulted police officers, corrupt Trump has now also pardoned a long list of allies and false electors who helped him try to overturn the 2020 presidential election. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Trump pardons top allies who aided bid to subvert the 2020 election
Pardon recipients include Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, John Eastman and dozens more.
www.politico.com