The DEFCON Warning System™

Ongoing GeoIntel and Analysis in the theater of nuclear war. DEFCON Level assessment issued for public notification. Established 1984.

United States

Inside the delicate art of maintaining America’s aging nuclear weapons

In an ultra-sterile room at a secure factory in Kansas City, U.S. government technicians refurbish the nation’s nuclear warheads. The job is

The U.S. Military is Unequipped for High-Intensity Combat

Repairing military equipment in a high-intensity conflict against a great power competitor should be identified as a gray rhino—a high impact, high

China, Russia taking ‘batting practice’ in air intercepts of aging US aircraft, general says

Russian and Chinese forces are growing bolder in their aerial intercepts of U.S. aircraft, in part because they’re no longer intimidated by

The Case for Urgency With China

Policymakers often assume the United States can deter China from invading Taiwan or win if deterrence fails. But that is no longer

The ‘Real Nuclear Crisis’ Fear Behind a Single Pentagon Document

The United States may be looking to station nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom for the first time in 15 years—and the

America Cannot Dismiss China’s 10-Dash Map

Last week, China released a new map called the 10-Dash map as a successor to Dash-9. This map represents an escalation by

This Is the Worst Place to Be If There’s a Nuclear Attack on America

This January, as global tensions rose worldwide, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock — which symbolizes how close they

2023 USSTRATCOM Deterrence Symposium

The 2023 U.S. Strategic Command Deterrence Symposium was held Aug. 16-17 in downtown Omaha, Neb.

Moving to ‘deterrence’ to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran

Washington’s fixation on the war in Ukraine is understandable given the horrors of Russian violence and atrocities. Unfortunately, while Washington is focused

U.S. Hunts Chinese Malware That Could Disrupt American Military Operations

The Biden administration is hunting for malicious computer code it believes China has hidden deep inside the networks controlling power grids, communications

China Poses “Alarming” Threat to United States Power Grid

China’s activities the U.S. power grid represent an “alarming” threat, according to Manny Cancel, senior vice president of the North American Electric

Lavrov called US plans to give Kyiv F-16 an example of a dangerous development of events

The appearance of F-16 fighters capable of carrying nuclear weapons in Kiev will be considered by Russia as a threat from the