Tag: nuclear

Putin suspends participation in key nuclear arms treaty

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that he is suspending Moscow’s participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States.
Russia will halt its participation in the New START Treaty, Putin announced in a lengthy speech to his country’s parliament.
“I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,” he said.
The U.S. recently raised concerns that Russia is not complying with provisions of the treaty, designed to place limits on strategic offensive arms.
The agreement — formally called the treaty between the U.S. and Russia on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms — originally entered into force in 2011, and includes limitations on systems such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and nuclear warheads on deployed ICBMs. The deal also includes processes for verification.
Earlier this month, NATO called on the Kremlin to stick to its commitments.
“NATO Allies agree the New START Treaty contributes to international stability by constraining Russian and U.S. strategic nuclear forces,” allies said in a statement.
“Russia’s refusal to convene a session of the Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC) within the treaty-established timeframe, and to facilitate U.S. inspection activities on its territory since August 2022 prevents the United States from exercising important rights under the Treaty,” the allies said.

“We call on Russia,” the allies added, “to fulfil its obligations.”
On Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he regrets Russia’s decision.
“Over the last years, Russia has violated and walked away from key arms control agreements,” he said at a press conference.
“With today’s decision on New START, the whole arms control architecture has been dismantled,” the NATO chief added. “I strongly encourage Russia to reconsider its decision and to respect existing agreements.”
The U.S.’ top diplomat also condemned Putin’s move.
“Russia’s announcement that it is suspending its participation in New Start is very disappointing and irresponsible,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at the U.S. Embassy in Athens. “But of course we remain ready to discuss the limitation of strategic arms at any time with Russia regardless of anything that happens in the world or in our relations.”

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

February 20, 2023
India-US making efforts for cooperation in nuclear energy sector

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New Delhi: In the face of growing global concerns over energy security triggered by the Ukraine conflict, India and the US are giving a fresh look at exploring practical cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector after failing to move forward since inking a historic agreement over 14 years back for partnership in the area.
Ways for possible cooperation in nuclear commerce under the framework of the India-US nuclear agreement of 2008 figured prominently in the talks US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey R Pyatt had with his Indian interlocutors in Delhi on February 16 and 17.
In an exclusive interview to PTI, Pyatt described India as a “very crucial” partner for the US in ensuring global energy security in view of serious disruptions in supplies of fossil fuel resulting from Russia’s “brutal” invasion of Ukraine.
“I am very focused on how we can develop opportunities for future civil nuclear cooperation, recognising that if we are stuck at issues, we have to work them through, the famous liability question,” he said.
“The business model of the civil nuclear industry is changing. In the US, we made a huge commitment to small and marginal reactors which could be particularly suitable to the Indian environment as well,” he said without elaborating further.
The senior Biden administration official also said the US supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “incredibly ambitious” energy transition goal of having 500 GW (gigawatt) of energy from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
Pyatt served at the US Embassy in New Delhi as Political Counselor from 2002 to 2006 and as Deputy Chief of Mission from 2006 to 2007, a period that saw intense negotiations between the two sides on the civil nuclear pact.
The actual cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector eluded in the last over 14 years primarily due to differences between the two sides over India’s liability rules relating to seeking damages from suppliers in the event of an accident.

“It was the first big thing that our two governments did together. It was so powerful for the rest of the world,” Pyatt said about the 2008 pact.
The US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy said the “civil nuclear renaissance” that the people were talking about got derailed to some considerable degree following the accident at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011.
However, he said Japan is now reconsidering the importance of nuclear power as part of its overall response to the “incredible disruptions of the global energy markets that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin has caused with his invasion of Ukraine,” he said, adding the climate crisis is another reason for preferring clean energy.
Pyatt suggested that New Delhi is very keen to take forward civil nuclear energy cooperation as part of the overall bilateral energy ties.
“The US-India energy and climate agenda is one of the most important that we have anywhere in the world,” he said.
In 2016, US energy firm Westinghouse and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCI) broadly agreed on terms for setting up of six nuclear reactors in India.
However, the negotiations were derailed after the American company declared bankruptcy in 2017.
There has been renewed focus globally on nuclear energy after the Ukraine war resulted a fossil fuel crisis.
The US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy said overall energy cooperation between India and the US will form a major part of the strategic ties between the two sides.
“When I look at where our strategic relationship is going, I see the issues that I am now responsible for as being right at the centre of the picture because there is so much potential to build on the strong foundation to do even more,” he said.
Pyatt said the US is keen on forging strong cooperation with India in areas of green hydrogen energy as well.
India on January 4 approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission with an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore to develop a green hydrogen production capacity of five million tonnes a year by 2030.
“The US investment in hydrogen complements the Indian investment in hydrogen and what I am interested in right now is to build bridges between our respective efforts so that we can leverage each other’s expertise,” he said.
To a question, Pyatt said there is significant scope for joint projects between the companies of the two countries in the area.
Pyatt said just like Reliance Industries is looking at green hydrogen in India, ExxonMobil Corporation, an American multinational oil and gas corporation, has also made a big commitment to the clean energy source.
He said India and the US can work in areas of hydrogen fuel cells, and how to scale up storage mechanisms for hydrogen energy and green shipping.
“There is fantastic scope for it. The market is going to have to decide how we use this product,” Pyatt said.
The American diplomat said the US is looking at possible energy cooperation under the framework of Quad as well.
“Quad is a fundamental organising principle for us. If you look at the different ways in which our four governments are active – all four have made a big commitment to hydrogen (energy). Australia has a big hydrogen programme, India has a large commitment. Our hydrogen ecosystem is going to grow very fast, the Japanese have a long-standing interest in hydrogen (energy),” he said.
Besides India and the US, the Quad comprises Japan and Australia.
The top diplomat further added: “This visit is focused on how to build up the US-India bilateral strategic energy partnership. But I think as that partnership becomes stronger and moves into the future-oriented areas, there is a natural opportunity to go from there into the Quad setting.”
Pyatt said the Russian invasion of Ukraine has created an incentive, particularly in places like Europe, to accelerate the energy transition.
“It is important to understand that Putin thought he could bring Europe to its knees by holding back gas resources, (but) that has failed and now that it has failed, he cannot play that card again. We have to make sure that he is never in a position to do that to anybody else,” the senior diplomat said.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 19, 2023
North India’s first nuclear plant to come up in Haryana

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New Delhi: North India’s first nuclear plant is coming up at Gorakhpur in Haryana’s Fatehabad district, which is about 150 km north of the national capital.
Disclosing this on Saturday, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, said that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime, one of the major achievements would be the installation of nuclear or atomic energy plants in other parts of the country, which were earlier confined mostly to the southern states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh or in the west in Maharashtra.
The Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana’s (GHAVP) two units of 700 MW capacity each are under implementation near the Gorakhpur village. Till date, an amount of Rs 4,906 crore has been spent out of the total allocated funds of Rs 20,594 crore for the project.
Construction of the main plant buildings/structures viz. fire water pump house (FWPH), safety related pump house (SRPH), fuel oil storage area, ventilation stack, overhead tank, switchyard control building, retaining walls and garland drain is progressing well.
Ground improvement in Turbine Building 1 and 2, 220 kV Switchyard and IDCT-1A is completed. Ground improvement in other areas are in progress. The contractors for the IDCT package and turbine island package have mobilised the site.
Purchase orders for major long manufacturing cycle equipment and components like primary coolant pumps, calandria, reactor headers, refuelling machines heads, moderator and other D20 heat exchangers etc. are already in place.
Construction of water duct from Tohana to GHAVP for meeting operational cooling water requirements has been taken up through the Haryana Irrigation & Water Resources Department (HI&WRD) as deposit work and is progressing well.
Singh said that keeping in line with the priority to increase India’s nuclear capacity, a number of path breaking decisions were taken in last over eight years.

He added that a bulk approval of installation of 10 nuclear reactors has been given a nod by the government.
The minister said that the Department of Atomic Energy has also been given permission for forming joint ventures with PSUs for opening atomic energy plants, which is an upcoming and promising sector, having potential to fulfil India’s energy needs in times to come.
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#North #Indias #nuclear #plant #Haryana
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 19, 2023
North India’s first nuclear plant to come up in Haryana

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New Delhi: North India’s first nuclear plant is coming up at Gorakhpur in Haryana’s Fatehabad district, which is about 150 km north of the national capital.
Disclosing this on Saturday, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, said that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime, one of the major achievements would be the installation of nuclear or atomic energy plants in other parts of the country, which were earlier confined mostly to the southern states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh or in the west in Maharashtra.
The Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana’s (GHAVP) two units of 700 MW capacity each are under implementation near the Gorakhpur village. Till date, an amount of Rs 4,906 crore has been spent out of the total allocated funds of Rs 20,594 crore for the project.
Construction of the main plant buildings/structures viz. fire water pump house (FWPH), safety related pump house (SRPH), fuel oil storage area, ventilation stack, overhead tank, switchyard control building, retaining walls and garland drain is progressing well.
Ground improvement in Turbine Building 1 and 2, 220 kV Switchyard and IDCT-1A is completed. Ground improvement in other areas are in progress. The contractors for the IDCT package and turbine island package have mobilised the site.
Purchase orders for major long manufacturing cycle equipment and components like primary coolant pumps, calandria, reactor headers, refuelling machines heads, moderator and other D20 heat exchangers etc. are already in place.
Construction of water duct from Tohana to GHAVP for meeting operational cooling water requirements has been taken up through the Haryana Irrigation & Water Resources Department (HI&WRD) as deposit work and is progressing well.
Singh said that keeping in line with the priority to increase India’s nuclear capacity, a number of path breaking decisions were taken in last over eight years.

He added that a bulk approval of installation of 10 nuclear reactors has been given a nod by the government.
The minister said that the Department of Atomic Energy has also been given permission for forming joint ventures with PSUs for opening atomic energy plants, which is an upcoming and promising sector, having potential to fulfil India’s energy needs in times to come.
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#North #Indias #nuclear #plant #Haryana
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 18, 2023
‘Wake-up call’: Top Republicans sound alarm over China’s nuclear expansion

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“We have no time to waste in adjusting our nuclear force posture to deter both Russia and China,” the lawmakers said. “This will have to mean higher numbers and new capabilities.”
Lamborn and Fischer are the top Republicans on the Armed Services subcommittees that oversee nuclear weapons programs.
The head of U.S. Strategic Command, Gen. Anthony Cotton, told lawmakers in a letter dated Jan. 26 that the U.S. retains a larger inventory of ICBMs and nuclear warheads, but that China has exceeded the U.S. in the number of fixed and mobile land-based launchers for those missiles. The Wall Street Journal first reported the letter.
The information came in response to a December letter from Republicans Rogers, Lamborn, Fischer and then-Senate Armed Services ranking member Jim Inhofe.
The revelation is likely to only further fuel uproar in Washington over Beijing, after a Chinese surveillance balloon traversed the U.S. before it was shot down last week.
Biden administration officials are set to brief the full Senate on the balloon on Thursday. The House is also likely to soon get briefed, leaders say. And House Republicans are weighing a resolution condemning China for the flap.
China’s military modernization, including its nuclear capabilities and a potential invasion of Taiwan, have been an early focus for Republicans.
House Armed Services held its first hearing Tuesday on the threat posed by China. During the session, Rogers broached the ICBM launcher news and warned of China’s nuclear expansion, urging the U.S. to act immediately to deter Beijing.

“The [Chinese Communist Party] is rapidly expanding its nuclear capability. They have doubled their number of warheads in just 2 years,” Rogers said at the outset of Tuesday’s hearing. “We estimated it would take them a decade to do that.”
The U.S. is undertaking a long-term overhaul of all three legs of its nuclear arsenal as well as fielding new weapons introduced under the Trump administration’s 2018 nuclear blueprint.
Low-yield warheads have been deployed aboard ballistic missile-carrying submarines. Congress has also preserved funding to develop a new sea-launched nuclear cruise missile that the Biden administration sought to cancel.
Nancy Vu contributed to this report.
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#Wakeup #call #Top #Republicans #sound #alarm #Chinas #nuclear #expansion
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 7, 2023
Nuclear Conflict?

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Mike Pompeo, former US Secretary of State has claimed that India and Pakistan were on the brink of a nuclear war in wake of the surgical strikes in 2018, an issue that the US settled in a night that he will never forget
US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania on Monday tried their hands at spinning the ‘charkha’ (spinning wheel) at the Sabarmati Ashram Ahmedabad Gujarat. Pic: ANI
The Balakot surgical strike on February 27, 2018, had triggered a serious diplomatic crisis and was heading towards a nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan. This is precisely what Donald Trump’s Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo has claimed in his memoir Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love.
“I do not think the world properly knows just how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over into a nuclear conflagration in February 2019. The truth is, I don’t know precisely the answer either; I just know it was too close,” Pompeo wrote.
Then in Hanoi, Vietnam, for negotiations between North Korean leader and Trump, the Indo-Pak tensions flared after a militant blew up an explosive-laded vehicle hitting a CRPF convey killing more than forty paramilitary personnel on February 14. In retaliation, Indian Air Force flew bombers during the night of February 27 and 28, hitting Balakot, a key Jaish formation. A day later, there was a dogfight between the rival fighters as a result of which India lost a fighter jet and its pilot was caught (later returned). Pakistan Air Force also bombed various spots inside Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking about the call that he received from his counterpart, then Sushma Swaraj, Pompeo wrote that he was informed that “Pakistanis had begun to prepare their nuclear weapons” and India was also “contemplating its own escalation”.
“I asked him to do nothing and give us a minute to sort things out. I began to work with Ambassador Bolton, who was with me in the tiny secure communications facility in our hotel,” Pompeo wrote. “I reached the actual leader of Pakistan, General Bajwa, with whom I had engaged many times. I told him what the Indians had told me. He said it wasn’t true. As one might expect, he believed the Indians were preparing their nuclear weapons for deployment. It took us a few hours—and remarkably good work by our teams on the ground in New Delhi and Islamabad—to convince each side that the other was not preparing for nuclear war. No other nation could have done what we did that night to avoid a horrible outcome.”
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Love for J
The Ministry of External Affairs Ministry in Delhi has avoided reacting to the revelation. At the same time, Pompeo has asserted that he actually worked with NSA Ajit Doval and the then foreign secretary, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who later in May 2019, became the Foreign Minister of India.

In his book, Pompeo has showered praises on Jaishankar’s capacity and knowledge – a man speaking seven languages, English “somewhat better than mine”, professional, rational, and a “fierce defender of his boss and his country”. However, Pompeo has termed Swaraj, a “goofball and a heartland political hack”. Jaishanker has strongly reacted to this and termed it “disrespectful” to his predecessor.
India versus Pakistan
While Pompeo’s book is an idea about Trump’s world order, it offers many details about the Indian subcontinent, especially India and Pakistan.
Indian leaders, Pompeo writes are “intently focused every minute on their bête noire of Pakistan” because the nuclear power controlled by its military and Islamist-sympathizing intelligence services presents a significant strategic and a terroristic threat to India. “Every action I took with respect to Pakistan—a trip or a phone call or a comment—was sure to result in a message saying that Prime Minister Modi or Foreign Minister Jaishankar wanted to speak. They were relentless and appropriately so,” the book reads.
Great Allies
At the same time, however, Pompeo has staked credit for ensuring a shift in India’s foreign policy that has always “charted its own course without a true alliance system, and that is still mostly the case” and has never remained tilted either towards USSR or the USA.
Pompeo sees the China angle as the key to a change. A strong ally of Pakistan, the Chinese army clubbed 20 soldiers in a skirmish in Ladakh. “That bloody incident caused the Indian public to demand a change in their country’s relationship with China. India also banned TikTok and dozens of Chinese apps as part of its response,” Pompeo wrote.
India’s foreign minister speaking to the UN general assembly on September 29, 2018
Offer details of a shift in US foreign policy, Pompeo – who was CIA chief before becoming Secretary of State, wrote that American diplomacy put Tokyo at the centre of its Asia policy and viewed Seoul as its primary location for geostrategic reach, which neglected India.
“Its population rivals that of China. We are natural allies, as we share a history of democracy, a common language, and ties of people and technology. India is also a market with enormous demand for American intellectual property and products. These factors, plus its strategic location in South Asia, made India the fulcrum of my diplomacy to counteract Chinese aggression,” explained Pompeo. “In my mind, a counter-China bloc made up of the United States, India, Japan, Australia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the European Union would have an economic weight at least three times that of China. I chose to devote serious quantities of time and effort to help make India the next great American ally.”
This was the key reason why India joined Quad, according to the book. However, certain inherent limitations remain. These include India’s inherent dislike for alliances, a deeply protectionist and state-directed economy, Russian weaponry and its trading relationship and a long international border with China. These issues limit “India’s appetite for risk”.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

February 2, 2023
Balakot Surgical Strike: Did Trump Administration Prevent India-Pak Nuclear War?

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SRINAGAR: Donald Trump’s Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo has claimed that India and Pakistan were on the verge of a nuclear war in February 2019, when India resorted to surgical strikes deep inside Balakot. In his latest book he has claimed that his then-Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj woke him up for a phone conversation to tell him that Pakistan was preparing for a nuclear attack and that India too was preparing to retaliate, The Tribune reported.
A 2019 photograph showing Dr Jaishankar with his US counterpart, Mike Pompeo
Writing in Never Give an Inch: Fighting for America, Pompeo claims the phone call came when he was in Hanoi for the US-North Korea summit on February 27-28 and his team then had to work through the night with both New Delhi and Islamabad to avert the crisis.
“I will never forget the night I was in Hanoi, Vietnam, when — as if negotiating with the North Koreans on nuclear weapons wasn’t enough —India and Pakistan started threatening each other in connection with a decades-long dispute over the northern border region of Kashmir,” wrote Pompeo in the book. “I do not think the world properly knows just how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over into a nuclear conflagration in February 2019. The truth is, I don’t know precisely the answer either; I just know it was too close.”
The book reads: “After an Islamist terrorist attack in Kashmir — probably enabled in part by Pakistan’s lax counter-terror policies — killed 40 Indians, India responded with an air strike against terrorists inside Pakistan. The Pakistanis shot down a plane in a subsequent dogfight and kept the Indian pilot prisoner.”
“In Hanoi, I was awakened to speak with my Indian counterpart. He believed the Pakistanis had begun to prepare their nuclear weapons for a strike. India, he informed me, was contemplating its own escalation. I asked him to do nothing and give us a minute to sort things out (sic),’’ wrote Pompeo, mistakenly referring to Swaraj as “he”. The MEA has so far not responded to Pompeo’s recollection.
India’s foreign minister speaking to the UN general assembly on September 29, 2018
He went on to say that while the incumbent External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was “competent”, his earlier counterpart Sushma Swaraj was not “important” in the matters of external affairs and he used to directly deal with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Reacting to this, Jaishankar said, “I have seen a passage in Secretary Pompeo’s book referring to Smt Sushma Swaraj ji. I always held her in great esteem and had an exceptionally close and warm relationship with her. I deplore the disrespectful colloquialism used for her.”
Pompeo in his book also claims that “India, which has charted an independent course on foreign policy, was forced to change its strategic posture and join the four-nation Quad grouping due to China’s aggressive actions.” India and China are locked in a lingering border standoff in eastern Ladakh for over 31 months.

The bilateral relationship came under severe strain following the deadly clash in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh in June 2020.
India has maintained that the bilateral relationship cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border area.
Pompeo called India the “wild card” in Quad. “The country (India) has always charted its own course without a true alliance system, and that is still mostly the case. But China’s actions have caused India to change its strategic posture in the last few years.”
Pompeo also explains how the Donald Trump administration succeeded in bringing India on board the Quad grouping.
The US, Japan, India and Australia had in 2017 given shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad or the Quadrilateral coalition.
“In June 2020, Chinese soldiers clubbed twenty Indian soldiers to death in a border skirmish. That bloody incident caused the Indian public to demand a change in their country’s relationship with China,” Pompeo writes.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

January 26, 2023
India, Pakistan came ‘too close’ to nuclear conflagration: Pompeo

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New York: India and Pakistan came “too close” to a nuclear conflagration during the 2019 confrontation with both sides believing the other was preparing to deploy nuclear weapons, according to former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
He recounted in his book, “Never Give an Inch”, his frantic night-time diplomatic efforts to get the neighbours to stand down after getting a call from External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar warning him that he believed Pakistan was readying nuclear weapons for a strike and India was considering its own escalation.
“I do not think the world properly knows just how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over in a nuclear conflagration,” he wrote.
But, he added, “the truth is, I don’t know precisely the answer either. I just know it was too close”.
He was woken up at night while he was on a visit to Hanoi with a call from Jaishankar who told him that “he believed the Pakistanis had begun to prepare their nuclear weapons for a strike”.
“India, he informed me, was contemplating its own escalation. I asked him to do nothing and give us a minute to sort things out,” Pompeo wrote.
Working with John Bolton, who was then the US National Security Adviser, from their Hanoi hotel room he “reached the actual leader of Pakistan. General (Qamer Javed) Bajwaa”, he wrote.
“I told him what the Indians had told me. He said it wasn’t true. As one might expect, he believed the Indians were preparing their own nuclear weapons for deployment.

“It took us a few hours, and remarkably good work by our teams on the ground in New Delhi and Islamabad, to convince each side that neither was to convince each side or the other was not preparing for nuclear war,” Pompeo added.
Taking credit for the de-escalation, he wrote: “No other nation could have done that, but we did that night to avoid a horrible outcome.”
He acknowledged the work of Kenneth Juster, who was the then US envoy in New Delhi, calling him “an incredibly capable ambassador” who “loves India and its people”.
Pompeo, who was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency before becoming the Secretary of State, recounted in the book his four years in former President Donald Trump’s cabinet.
The book subtitled, “Fighting for the America I Love”, lays out how he aggressively implemented Trump’s ‘America First’ vision.
Writing about his efforts to deepen ties with New Delhi, Pompeo wrote that he “made India the fulcrum of my diplomacy to contract Chinese aggression”.
“I chose to devote serious quantities of time and effort to make India the next great American ally,” he added.
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#India #Pakistan #close #nuclear #conflagration #Pompeo
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 25, 2023
US to test nuclear engine for future Mars missions

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Los Angeles: NASA and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have announced a collaboration to demonstrate a nuclear thermal rocket engine in space, the key steps for sending the first crewed missions to Mars.
NASA and DARPA will partner on the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) programme, Xinhua news agency reported.
Using a nuclear thermal rocket allows for faster transit time, reducing risk for astronauts, according to NASA.
Reducing transit time is a key component for human missions to Mars, as longer trips require more supplies and more robust systems.
“NASA will work with our long-term partner, DARPA, to develop and demonstrate advanced nuclear thermal propulsion technology as soon as 2027. With the help of this new technology, astronauts could journey to and from deep space faster than ever – a major capability to prepare for crewed missions to Mars,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
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#test #nuclear #engine #future #Mars #missions

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 25, 2023
Pompeo claims India informed him Pakistan was preparing for nuclear attack post-Balakot surgical strike

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Washington: Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed that he was awakened to speak to his then Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj who told him that Pakistan was preparing for a nuclear attack in the wake of the Balakot surgical strike in February 2019 and India is preparing its own escalatory response.
In his latest book ‘Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love’ that hit the stores on Tuesday, Pompeo says that the incident took place when he was in Hanoi for the US-North Korea Summit on February 27-28 and his team worked overnight with both New Delhi and Islamabad to avert this crisis.
“I do not think the world properly knows just how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over into a nuclear conflagration in February 2019. The truth is, I don’t know precisely the answer either; I just know it was too close,” Pompeo writes.
India’s warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF jawans.
“I’ll never forget the night I was in Hanoi, Vietnam when – as if negotiating with the North Koreans on nuclear weapons wasn’t enough – India and Pakistan started threatening each other in connection with a decades-long dispute over the northern border region of Kashmir,” Pompeo says.
“After an Islamist terrorist attack in Kashmir- probably enabled in part by Pakistan’s lax counterterror policies – killed forty Indians, India responded with an air strike against terrorists inside Pakistan. The Pakistanis shot down a plane in a subsequent dogfight and kept the Indian pilot prisoner,” he said.
“In Hanoi, I was awakened to speak with my Indian counterpart. He believed the Pakistanis had begun to prepare their nuclear weapons for a strike. India, he informed me, was contemplating its own escalation. I asked him to do nothing and give us a minute to sort things out (sic),” Pompeo writes in his book, which wrongly refers to Swaraj as “he”.
“I began to work with Ambassador (then National Security Advisor John) Bolton, who was with me in the tiny secure communications facility in our hotel. I reached the actual leader of Pakistan, (Army chief) General (Qamar Javed) Bajwa, with whom I had engaged many times. I told him what the Indians had told me. He said it wasn’t true,” Pompeo says.

“As one might expect, he believed the Indians were preparing their nuclear weapons for deployment. It took us a few hours – and remarkably good work by our teams on the ground in New Delhi and Islamabad – to convince each side that the other was not preparing for nuclear war,” the 59-year-old top former American diplomat wrote in his book.
There was no immediate comment from the Ministry of External Affairs on Pompeo’s claims.
“No other nation could have done what we did that night to avoid a horrible outcome. As with all diplomacy, the people working the problem set matter a great deal, at least in the short run. I was fortunate to have great team members in place in India, none more so than Ken Juster, an incredibly capable ambassador. Ken loves India and its people,” he said.
“And, most of all, he loves the American people and worked his tail off for us every day. My most senior diplomat, David Hale, had also been the US ambassador to Pakistan and knew that our relationship with India was a priority,” Pompeo said.
“General McMaster and Admiral Philip Davidson, the head of what came to be renamed the US Indo-Pacific Command, understood India’s importance, too,” he said.
“Although often frustrated by the Indians, US trade representative Robert Lighthizer – a brilliant trade negotiator and a Bob Dole staff alumnus, making him a near-Kansan – was a great partner working to deepen economic ties. We all shared the view that America had to make a bold strategic effort to tighten our ties with India and break the mold with new ideas,” Pompeo writes in his book.
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#Pompeo #claims #India #informed #Pakistan #preparing #nuclear #attack #postBalakot #surgical #strike
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 24, 2023