The new nuclear arms race: Smarter, faster nukes

The New Nuclear Arms Race: Smarter, Faster Nukes | GZERO World

There's a lot of talk about nukes these days — but not about Cold War-era massive arsenals and mutually assured destruction. Nuclear weapons expert Kelsey Davenport says the risk of something going horribly wrong is rising because countries like China or Russia are developing smaller warheads and high-tech delivery systems such as hypersonic missiles, which traditional arms control agreements don't take into account. "We have to be more creative than thinking just about the numbers," she explains, adding that what's more destabilizing is countries investing in nukes that are so nimble and travel so fast they can penetrate US defense systems. Watch her interview with Ian Bremmer on the upcoming episode of GZERO World on US public television - check local listings.

More from GZERO Media

US President Donald Trump meets with China's President Xi Jinping at the start of their bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping spoke Thursday for the first time since the former returned to office, as a recent pause in their trade war looked set to fall apart.

A migrant carries his child after crossing the Darien Gap and arriving at the migrant reception center, in the village of Lajas Blancas, Darien Province, Panama, on September 26, 2024.

REUTERS/Enea Lebrun

More and more people will seek a new homeland over the next few decades, which will pose a major challenge to political leaders. However, politicians have shown little interest in dealing with this challenge in a sensible fashion.

Zelensky and Putin in front of flags and war.
Jess Frampton

On Sunday, Ukraine executed one of the most extraordinary asymmetric operations in modern military history. Using domestically built first-person-view (FPV) drones deployed from deep inside Russian territory, Kyiv launched a coordinated assault against several military airbases as far as eastern Siberia, the border with Mongolia, and the Arctic.