US State Department Reports on New START Treaty

 

 

Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance

May 3, 2012

   

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Basic Components

The Central Limits of the New START Treaty

• Deployed Warheads: 1,550 warheads emplaced on deployed ICBMs and SLBMs, and counted for deployed heavy bombers.
• Deployed Ballistic Missiles and Heavy Bombers: 700 deployed ICBMs, deployed SLBMs, and deployed heavy bombers.
• Deployed and Non-Deployed Launchers and Heavy Bombers: 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers, deployed and non-deployed SLBM launchers, deployed and non-deployed heavy bombers.
• Timetable for Limitations: Parties must meet central limits within seven years after the Treaty enters into force.
• Duration of Agreement: Ten years with an option to extend for no more than five years, if both sides agree.
   

Verification Regime
 

• National Technical Means (NTM) – Treaty provides for the use of, and non-interference with, NTM, which are satellites and other national means of verification and monitoring.
• On-site Inspections – 18 on-site inspections per year. Ten Type One inspections focus on sites with deployed and non-deployed strategic systems; Eight Type Two inspections focus on sites with only non-deployed strategic systems.
• Unique Identifiers (UIDs) – Each ICBM, SLBM, and heavy bomber will be assigned a unique identifier.
• Telemetric Information –To enhance transparency and supplement verification provisions.
• Compliance – Establishment of the Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC).
   

Data Exchange
 

• Data Exchange and Notifications – Ongoing exchanges of data on numbers, locations, and technical characteristics of weapons systems and facilities, with regular notifications and updates.

Aggregate Numbers of Strategic Offensive Arms
 

Category of Data	United States of America	Russian Federation
Deployed ICBMs, Deployed SLBMs, and Deployed Heavy Bombers	812	494
Warheads on Deployed ICBMs, on Deployed SLBMs, and Nuclear Warheads Counted for Deployed Heavy Bombers	1737	1492
Deployed and Non-deployed Launchers of ICBMs, Deployed and Non-deployed Launchers of SLBMs, and Deployed and Non-deployed Heavy Bombers	1040	881

(As of March 2012, as drawn from the six-month data update provided by the Parties)

Implementation Thus Far
 

• Notifications: Over 2,200 notifications exchanged through the Nuclear Risk Reduction Centers (movements, launches, data changes).
• Exhibitions: Four exhibitions required by the Treaty have been completed (Russian RS-24 road-mobile ICBM and launcher; U.S. B-1B heavy bomber; U.S. B-2A heavy bomber; U.S. SSGN).
• Type One and Type Two Inspections: During the first year of Treaty implementation, both sides completed their annual allocation of 18 on-site inspections. For this Treaty Year, the U.S. has conducted 4 inspections and Russia has conducted 4 inspections.

-- These inspections have taken place at ICBM, SLBM, and heavy bomber bases; storage facilities; conversion or elimination facilities; and test ranges

• Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC): Has met three times and signed two non-legally binding Joint Statements and two legally-binding Agreements, memorializing shared understandings of technical issues related to implementation activities.
• Telemetry Exchange: Both Parties have conducted demonstrations of telemetric information playback equipment and recording media to be used during telemetry exchanges. During the third session of the BCC, agreement was reached between the Parties to exchange telemetric information of one ICBM or SLBM launch conducted in 2011. Telemetric information was exchanged among the Parties on April 6, 2012.

Conclusions
 

• The implementation of the New START Treaty has been successful and is progressing smoothly.
• The outstanding working relationship that developed during negotiations has carried over into implementation.
• Both sides have worked cooperatively to resolve implementation questions as they have arisen.
• We look forward to reporting further success and additional updates as New START implementation continues.