It’s fair to say, that US and Russian negotiators hit “some bouncy patches” in the past several weeks in hashing out the details of the START follow-on agreement to reduce each side’s strategic nuclear forces, James Miller, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, said Tuesday on Capitol Hill. However, substantial progress has been made since then during talks in Geneva that has narrowed these differences, he said. In fact, “I think it is realistic to think now about concluding a treaty within the next several weeks,” he said. On this same front, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be in Moscow Thursday and Friday to discuss the progress on the new treaty with senior Russian officials, according to the State Department. (See Triad Remains above) (Miller’s prepared remarks)
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
