Initiative for Deterrence and Arms Control Publications

Executive Summary The Soviet Union and Russia have invested in anti-satellite weapons to ensure that their nuclear deterrent remains credible. For both the Soviet Union and Russia, the destruction of American satellites was (and is) viewed as part of...

At the end of May, Russia and Belarus conducted a set of what they claimed were nuclear exercises. Some nine or so systems were tested, including the Su-25 attack aircraft, Tu-95 bomber, the Yars and Kinzhal ballistic missiles, the...

Russia sees opportunity in the Arctic. For centuries, ever-present sea ice has made the region hostile to trade or military exploitation. But as the ice melts, that reality is changing. Russia plans to capitalize on the economic benefit of...

This piece is part of Behind the Front, an FPRI project on the future of US and allied national defense. At the end of April, Gerry Doyle at Bloomberg reported that CENTCOM had requested the deployment of Dark Eagle...

This piece is part of Behind the Front, an FPRI project on the future of US and allied national defense. In late 2020, drones burst onto the national security scene in a new way. During the Nagorno-Karabakh war between...

  Introduction There are two remarkable stories about defenses during the war between Israel and Iran in June 2025. One is the failure of Iran’s much-discussed air defense system; the other, the success of the Israeli missile defense system....

The Tomahawk cruise missile is a near perfect machine. Its development followed advances in guidance and turbofan engine technology in the 1970s. It has been tested for decades. And it has been upgraded and augmented for the same amount...

Executive Summary  In 2015, a new space race began. Blue Origin, a privately owned company, landed a booster on a launch pad back on earth, after lifting an object 100 kilometers into the atmosphere. SpaceX quickly followed suit, landing its own Falcon booster back on a pad for use again for later space...