The United States has developed the capability to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of its nuclear stockpile through technology and research—while foregoing explosive testing, said Acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control Rose Gottemoeller in a speech urging ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. She noted in her Sept. 26 address in Washington, D.C., that’s it’s been 20 years since the United States conducted its last underground nuclear test on Sept. 23, 1992, and also 16 years since the United States signed the CTBT on Sept. 24, 1996. While the United States has maintained a two-decade moratorium on testing, ratification of the treaty would be a “significant affirmation” of the importance that the nation attributes to the international nonproliferation regime, she said. “By hastening the day the treaty enters into force, US ratification would concretely contribute to reducing the role of nuclear weapons in international security,” she asserted. Ratification “will be a difficult task,” acknowledged Gottemoeller. But the Obama Administration is committed to moving the treaty forward, as the security of the United States “and all states, will be enhanced when CTBT enters into force,” she said.
The final version of the fiscal 2026 defense policy bill calls for adding $1.2 billion to the Space Force’s research and development accounts, an increase that’s mostly split between two efforts: expanding the service’s low-Earth orbit data transport network and boosting its space-based missile warning and tracking capabilities.
