Nuclear Weapons:
John Pope, Chief Audience Officer at Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:
Some interesting polling on existential risk from the well respected “America Speaks” poll from NORC at UChicago. One question really stood out for nuclear work – when asked about global threats nuclear war was the most commonly ranked “greatest risk” by participants: [54% said nuclear war]
And drilling into the cross tabs younger audiences were most likely to see it as a threat: [61% of younger adults]:
https://www.norc.org/research/library/americans-expect-future-shaped-ai-fear-other-threats-more.html
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U.S. acknowledges for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space:”The United States has confirmed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space, a remarkable revelation after previous warnings about countries such as Russia possibly weaponizing a global frontier long agreed in treaties to be used for only peaceful purposes. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said Monday that the U.S. has fielded “on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action.”
Plutonium pit production:
As per the FY 2027 Continuing Resolution, pit production at LANL will be held to the FY 2026 funding level of $1.3 billion until December 11. However, it is slated to get a full $1 billion increase to $2.3 billion for FY 2027. For the next six years at least $2 billion will spent each year at LANL and SRS each. Again, no future pit production is to maintain the safety and reliability of the existing stockpile. It’s all for new-design nuclear weapons that could prompt the U.S. to resume testing, after which all proliferation hell could break out.
Accelerating Arms Race:
- apnews.com/article/nato-russia-nuclear-kaliningrad-hybrid-sabotage-2bd21dbaf9d67f5e2aada61e9ce8bf06 – Russia warns NATO of a possible nuclear response if Kaliningrad is cut off, September 30, 2026
BRUSSELS (AP) — Russia has warned NATO that it would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons to defend Kaliningrad should any members of the military bloc try to cut off its western exclave from the rest of the country.
The warning sent to NATO echoed statements issued by several Russian embassies in Europe this week which said that Moscow has “information that NATO is preparing (an) air and naval blockade of Kaliningrad and Kaliningrad region.”… The statements accused European leaders of “playing a dangerous game” by warning that Russia might attack another country or ramp up a campaign of destabilizing attacks in Europe using drones and sabotage. Moscow has called the allegations absurd.
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mei.edu/publication/turkey-ankaras-nuclear-ambitions-in-the-post-iran-war-environment/ – Turkey: Ankara’s Nuclear Ambitions in the Post-Iran War Environment
In February 2026, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan suggested that shifting international dynamics could push Turkey to acquire nuclear weapons, reigniting a decades-old debate over Ankara’s nuclear ambitions. Foreign Minister Fidan’s remarks are only the latest in a series of public statements in which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other Turkish officials have increasingly challenged nonproliferation norms and even hinted at an interest in acquiring nuclear weapons. That rhetoric, combined with Turkey’s civilian nuclear energy and research programs and its indigenous surface-to-surface missile development projects, has fueled concerns that these capabilities could eventually form the backbone of a Turkish nuclear weapons program.
- reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/north-korea-vice-defence-minister-says-us-arms-buildup-justifies-expanding-2026-09-17/ North Korea says US-led arms buildup justifies expanding nuclear force
North Korea’s vice defence minister said on Thursday that a growing U.S.-led military buildup and what he called an expanding nuclear alliance among Washington, Seoul and Tokyo justified Pyongyang’s efforts to strengthen and expand its nuclear forces. Speaking at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, China’s flagship international security conference, Vice Defence Minister Kim Kang Il said North Korea’s status as a nuclear weapons state was irreversible and pledged to continue expanding its nuclear arsenal.
- the-independent.com/asia/east-asia/donald-trump-north-korea-nuclear-programme-kim-jong-un-b3058726.html – Trump says it’s fine for Kim Jong Un to have nuclear weapons because ‘he likes me’
US president claims he’s ‘about the only person in the entire world’ the North Korean leader like Donald Trump downplayed North Korea’s controversial nuclear programme, invoking his supposed bonhomie with Kim Jong Un. The American president was asked why Iran could not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons when North Korea already possessed them and continued to expand its arsenal.
Mr Trump responded by blaming his predecessor, Joe Biden, for not pursuing the matter with North Korea and claimed he was the only person Mr Kim liked in the entire world. “Because you had a different president,” Mr Trump said. “They could have stopped him. He happens to be a friend of mine. Kim Jong Un, he is a friend of mine. He likes Trump.”
- reuters.com/world/finland-joins-frances-nuclear-deterrent-initiative-2026-09-14/ Finland joins France’s nuclear deterrent initiative
Finland has joined France’s initiative to extend the reach of its nuclear deterrent through collaboration with partner European countries, the heads of both countries said on Monday. In response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s expressions of concern about the U.S. security commitment to Europe and to the security implications of the Ukraine war, France in March announced the Forward Nuclear Deterrence Initiative.