Mackenzie Knight-Boyle
@mknight.bsky.social
1K followers 97 following 53 posts
Senior Research Associate @ Federation of American Scientists - Nuclear Information Project Mother to a demonic chihuahua named Pippin 🐾 Views are my own
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
mknight.bsky.social
Interestingly, following recent reports that Sentinel would require "predominantly" new silos, the GAO report says only: "the Air Force is reassessing all aspects of its plan to field Sentinel, including the extent to which Sentinel will use the existing Minuteman III launch facilities."
mknight.bsky.social
New report from the GAO on the Sentinel ICBM program 👀 this should be good
www.gao.gov
mknight.bsky.social
With the new GAO Sentinel report out, this feels like a great time to promote @mattkorda.bsky.social and I's recent report on Sentinel: The Two-Hundred Billion Dollar Boondoggle.

We knew the Air Force would have to life-extend MMIII (and that they could have all along). Read more below 👇
The Two-Hundred Billion Dollar Boondoggle - Federation of American Scientists
Nearly one year after the Pentagon certified the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program to continue after it incurred critical cost and schedule overruns, the new nuclear missile could on...
fas.org
mknight.bsky.social
GAO confirms what Defense Daily reported back in January: "Air Force officials are assessing options to potentially operate Minuteman III through 2050."

I seem to recall many arguments in favor of Sentinel resting on the premise that Minuteman could not be life extended 🤔
mknight.bsky.social
New report from the GAO on the Sentinel ICBM program 👀 this should be good
www.gao.gov
mknight.bsky.social
"the Air Force has not yet developed a transition risk
management plan, a leading project planning practice."
"the Air Force has not developed a schedule
for construction of a Sentinel test facility."

wow I wonder why the program is billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule
mknight.bsky.social
New report from the GAO on the Sentinel ICBM program 👀 this should be good
www.gao.gov
mknight.bsky.social
don't worry guys there's gonna be a coffee bar at the new F-35 complex at Kleine-Brogel

www.jandenul.com/news/foundat...
Reposted by Mackenzie Knight-Boyle
nukestrat.bsky.social
With deranged chest-thumper in Oval Office, what to think about president having sole authority to order launch of US nukes? My colleague @mknight.bsky.social does deep dive on history, mechanics, and proposed changes to this arrangement. It’s not a black and white as you might think.👇
mknight.bsky.social
The president has sole authority to order nuclear use- How did we get here? How does it work? What’s the issue? Can we solve it?

My new @scientistsorg.bsky.social report on nuclear launch authority in the U.S. - “All the King’s Weapons” - is out! Read it below 👇

fas.org/publication/...
mknight.bsky.social
The president has sole authority to order nuclear use- How did we get here? How does it work? What’s the issue? Can we solve it?

My new @scientistsorg.bsky.social report on nuclear launch authority in the U.S. - “All the King’s Weapons” - is out! Read it below 👇

fas.org/publication/...
Reposted by Mackenzie Knight-Boyle
mknight.bsky.social
TL;DR of nukes at China's military parade yesterday:

🤔 DF-61 - new ICBM??
🕳️ DF-31BJ - silo loader?
✈️ air-launched ballistic missile?
🔺 entire nuclear triad displayed for first time

Read our @scientistsorg.bsky.social team's full analysis below:
Nuclear Weapons At China's 2025 Victory Day Parade - Federation of American Scientists
This buildup appears to contradict China's obligations under the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and could well stimulate nuclear buildups in the United States and India.
fas.org
mknight.bsky.social
oh sure for other missiles we'll add a whole bunch of letters to denote new versions and basing modes but for this ALBM we'll just reuse the name we already used for our first SLBM!!! somebody get me on the phone with Xi
mknight.bsky.social
If u need me I'll be grumbling in the corner about China calling the new ALBM the JL-1
mknight.bsky.social
P.S. if the the link isn’t working, you can navigate to “Donate”, then search my name and click “Donate Now” under “Taylor Dehner & Mackenzie Knight” 😊 (or Venmo me @ mackenzieknight7)
mknight.bsky.social
My sister and I are running the Chicago Marathon this October to raise money for the American Liver Foundation, and we’re just over $1000 away from our $5k goal! Please consider donating at the following link to help us reach the finish line 🤩🏁: liverlifechallenge.org/chicago/supp...
mknight.bsky.social
80 years since the US dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. This is not history - there are still survivors of this bombing alive today. It is our duty, as the last generation capable of hearing their direct testimony, to listen to their stories and ensure it never happens again.
mknight.bsky.social
Absolutely disgusted and disappointed to be a Hoosier with this news. Giving a literal concentration camp a quirky alliterative name - especially one that’s supposed to invoke some sort of Indiana pride - is pure evil.
politico.com
A new immigrant detention center will be opening in Indiana called the “Speedway Slammer,” modeled after Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz.”

On #playbookpod, Megan Messerly explains why the rhetoric used by the administration to describe these centers is significant.

🎧 Listen here: ow.ly/yY5B50WAzH8
mknight.bsky.social
It’s not every job where you get to teach a roomful of aspiring OSINT practitioners how to dissect and analyze satellite imagery for nuclear weapons research. But this is a real workplace hazard at @scientistsorg.bsky.social. Inaugural OSINT Bootcamp was 💯🤩
Let's do it again every day, ok guys? 🥹
mknight.bsky.social
This piece would not have been possible without the contributions of my brilliant colleague @elianajjohns.bsky.social. Follow her so you don't miss out on her nuclear analysis and expertise 🫡
mknight.bsky.social
My latest in @postopinions.bsky.social - the 5th installment of our @scientistsorg.bsky.social series "The Next Nuclear Age"

How a president might come to launch a nuclear strike

Massive thanks to @sebphilippe.bsky.social for helping us model what a nuclear attack on DC might look like
⬇️⬇️
Opinion | How a nuclear attack on the U.S. might unfold, step by step
A scenario of America’s response to an incoming nuclear attack.
wapo.st
Reposted by Mackenzie Knight-Boyle
nytimes.com
Zohran Mamdani stunned former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who conceded the New York City mayoral primary race to the 33-year-old state lawmaker. trib.al/KfNebEQ
Zohran Mamdani is pictured speaking. Headline reads: "Mamdani Stuns Cuomo in New York Mayoral Primary." Photo credit: Scott Heins for The New York Times.
Reposted by Mackenzie Knight-Boyle
mattkorda.bsky.social
An administration that claims to be obsessed with eliminating waste should look no further than the Sentinel ICBM program.

@mknight.bsky.social and I have done a deep dive into the system; we explore why the program is so behind schedule, over-budget, and poorly managed. 👇

fas.org/publication/...
The Two-Hundred Billion Dollar Boondoggle - Federation of American Scientists
Nearly one year after the Pentagon certified the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program to continue after it incurred critical cost and schedule overruns, the new nuclear missile could on...
fas.org