The DEFCON Warning System™

The World’s Only Public Nuclear Threat Advisory System. Independent, real-time analysis of global nuclear tensions. Since 1984.

United States

U.S. government rejects call to disclose size of nuclear arsenal

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has rejected a request from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) to disclose the number

Russia warns of another Cuban Missile Crisis

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned that the deployment of U.S. land-based missile systems near Russia’s borders were comparable to the

Question Asked: Could the U.S. Navy Destroy North Korea In a War?

Corbett observes that a navy can apply pressure on a foe’s “national life” from day one of a conflict. Over time, he

House Committee Votes to Prohibit Low-Yield Nuclear Weapons on Submarines

The House Armed Services Committee added several provisions to its annual defense authorization bill, but the among most contentious was if the

Russia Keeps Asking U.S. to Agree to No Nuclear Weapons Use, but It’s Not Getting Any Answer

Moscow’s top diplomat has again petitioned Washington to join an agreement to mutually forego the use of nuclear weapons, an effort that

One Year After Singapore: Losing Ground on North Korean Denuclearization

While the Singapore summit was historic as the first meeting ever between U.S. and North Korean leaders, it failed to produce any

Will the US and Iranian Confrontation Lead to War?

The current crisis between the US and Iran is the most severe since the Iranian 1979 revolution and the attendant establishment of

China’s Rare Earth Dominance: How Usable a Weapon?

As Washington and Beijing brace for a protracted trade war, Chinese sources increasingly discuss the potential for weaponizing the Middle Kingdom’s major

Questionable Alliances: Why America Needs to Reexamine Its International Relationships

Modern circumstances continue to bear out the prescience of America’s founders. Especially George Washington’s warning against “entangling alliances.” In contrast, U.S. policymakers

United States’ reliance on pressure tactics is showing diminishing returns

President Donald Trump’s brinkmanship with Mexico over immigration has opened a new and risky front in his global campaign to pressure other

Is the U.S.-Iran nuclear standoff cooling down or heating up? – analysis

On May 5, the US announced that it was moving a naval flotilla into the Persian Gulf which included significant additional aerial

A Stealth F-35 with Laser Weapons: The Ultimate Nuclear Missile Killer?

The Pentagon is working with industry to explore the possibility that bomb, missile or laser-armed F-35s could destroy an attacking nuclear-armed Intercontinental