文章基本信息

标题：Ready, Set, Getting to Go:US Nuclear Test Readiness Posture
本地全文：下载
作者：Lt Col Geoffrey Steeves
期刊名称：Strategic Studies Quarterly
印刷版ISSN：1936-1815
出版年度：2020
卷号：14
期号：3
页码：22-48
语种：English
出版社：Air University Press
摘要：In a geopolitical environment dominated by great power competition, the stakes of maintaining a credible nuclear deterrent have returned to the forefront of national security. Yet nearly 30 years have passed since the United States conducted a nuclear test. There remains a legal requirement, with origins in hard-earned Cold War lessons, for the nation to return to underground nuclear testing if called upon to do so. However, the considerable challenges create uncertainty about how quickly the United States could resume nuclear testing if the geopolitical situation warranted it. This article overviews nuclear testing and its legal framework, outlines the challenges the United States would face to resume testing, broadly considers conditions that could prompt testing resumption, and offers recommendations on how to improve its nuclear test readiness posture.