Fabian Hoffmann is doctoral research fellow at the Oslo Nuclear Project at Oslo University.
A recent report by the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) argues that within the next decade, Russian missile defences may be able to stop a British and French nuclear strike. Russia’s strategic missile defences remain extremely limited in number and are concentrated largely around Moscow Britain is right to be concerned about this. After all,
Over the weekend, the US Air Force attacked three nuclear sites in Iran in an operation codenamed ‘Midnight Hammer’. According to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, the strike was ‘designed to severely degrade Iran’s nuclear weapons infrastructure’. The operation involved seven B-2 strategic bombers flying from the continental United States to
Since the beginning of ‘Operation True Promise III’ – launched after Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure, leadership targets, and military sites – Iran has fired over 370 ballistic missiles at Israel, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office on Monday. This is not the first time Israel has faced large-scale Iranian missile attacks. Similar volleys
Donald Trump has outlined his plans for a ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence system over the United States. The aim is to establish a shield capable of defending against all types of missile threats, including hypersonic missile systems, cruise missiles and nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. The name is a nod to Israel’s ‘Iron Dome’ missile defence system,
In the early morning of May 7, India launched missile and air strikes – referred to as Operation Sindoor – at nine locations within Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Indian authorities said it was a response to the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, which left 26 civilians dead, most of them Indian tourists. The stated targets
On 27 March, the Houthis launched two ballistic missiles at Israel. It also reportedly launched ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and long-range one-way attack drones at US Navy warships in the region, including the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier. The attack likely came in response to a series of US air and naval strikes against Houthi
This week, Russia launched a missile attack on Dnipro, Ukraine, reportedly using a new medium-range ballistic missile named ‘Oreshnik’, as confirmed yesterday by President Putin. Putin stated that the missile attack was a response to Ukraine’s use of western-built missile systems inside Russia, including US-supplied ATACMS ballistic missiles and British Storm Shadow cruise missiles. Before this
Last night, US President Joe Biden authorised Ukraine to use American ATACMS – or Army Tactical Missile Systems – against targets in the Russian region of Kursk. This decision came approximately six months after ATACMS were first deployed in Ukraine. Before now, they have been limited to targets in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. The decision from Biden appears
On the night of 26 October, Israel conducted an aerial strike on Iran, marking the latest move in the ongoing tit-for-tat conflict between the two countries. The attack, which had been anticipated and was announced by the Israeli government, was in response to an earlier Iranian missile strike on Israel at the beginning of October, named Operation
Last night, Iran launched a large-scale missile strike against Israel, dubbed ‘Operation True Promise II’. According to the latest reports, the attack involved approximately 180 ballistic missiles, making it one of the largest missile assaults in history. Iranian officials stated that the attack was in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran
Vladimir Putin has announced that Moscow’s nuclear doctrine will be adjusted, telling a group of senior officials that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it is attacked using conventional weapons. Inevitably there is concern that Putin could resort to a nuclear strike on Europe if western assistance to Ukraine crosses certain red lines. Putin’s remarks took place on 25
