Archive

United States

How to End the Iran Crisis

For Foreign Affairs, former European Commission VP Federica Mogherini & IST Senior Fellow Sahil V. Shah examine the trajectory of the Iran-U.S. peace talks, and the future of the nuclear file.

Iran, national security, nuclear, nuclear energy, United States

April 13, 2026

The New Nuclear Age: At the Precipice of Armageddon – IST Hosts Book Talk with Author Ankit Panda

IST’s Nuclear Policy team hosted international security expert and author Ankit Panda in Palo Alto to learn more about his latest book unpacking the trilateral nuclear competition between the United States, China, and Russia. IST CEO Philip Reiner sat down for a fireside chat with Ankit, highlighting in their discussion the need to collectively identify political and technical solutions to address the nexus of emerging technologies and the new nuclear age.

AI, and communications, artificial inteligence, China, control, NC3, nuclear, nuclear command, nuclear risk, Russia, United States

November 17, 2025

The Phone-a-Friend Option: Use Cases for a U.S.-U.K.-French Crisis Communication Channel

This brief outlines the case for a multilateral crisis communication channel between the heads of state of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.

France, nuclear crisis communications, United Kingdom, United States

June 26, 2024

Communication Disruption Attacks on NC3

In an essay out of the workshop "Last Chance: Communicating at the Nuclear Brink," Paul Bracken argues, "in a nuclear world we should be careful about attacking enemy communications because doing so leads to greater risks of uncontrolled escalation. The worst possible situation is the one the United States is now in, that is, to not be clear in our own minds about what we are doing when it comes to disrupting communications.”

CATALINK, communication, communication attacks, electromagnetic pulse, electronic warfare, escalation, military, NC3, nuclear, red line, retaliation, strike, target, targeting, United States, vulnerability

May 28, 2020

Turkey and Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications

Can Kasapoğlu argues that in contrast to the other four NATO nuclear delivery states, Turkey no longer appears to have an active nuclear weapons delivery mission using bombers and its NC3 system is likely dormant. "Yet," he concludes, "in a hypothetical TNW scenario, the Turkish Air Force would manage the Incirlik base and air traffic for the US air wing, and would probably provide the strike package with fighter escort. In fact, the strong separation between active combat (the US) and support roles (Turkey) could be a complicating factor for the NC3 in real warfighting...

air base, Ankara, C4ISR, cold war, Middle East, missile, NATO, NC3, nuclear, nuclear delivery state, squadron, stability, Turkey, United States

June 27, 2019

An Examination of the US NC3 Industrial and Innovation Base

Colonel Elvert Gardner examines the U.S. industrial and innovation base, identifying key factors that may militate against innovation and against timely and efficient supply in the US industrial base.

Aquisition, cybersecurity, Department of Defense, DOD, human capital, industrial base, innovation, modernization, National Defense Authorization Act, national security, nuclear, stability, supply chain, United States

June 20, 2019

Command and Control of Nuclear Weapons in India

M.V. Ramana and Lauren Borja analyze the state of nuclear command and control in India, concluding that the state of Indian NC3 “has been shaped by an ongoing rivalry between civilian authorities and the military."

accident, communication, control, decision-making, defense, delivery vehicle, deterrence, early warning, India, military, NC3, nuclear, Pakistan, stability, submarine, survivability, United States, wargaming

August 1, 2019

Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications: U.S. Country Profile

In "Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications: U.S. Country Profile," Jeffrey Larsen argues that, for the last 75 years, the deterrence forces of the United States have relied on the credible threat of nuclear weapons use to prevent adversarial attacks.

authority, C2, command, communication, control, deterrence, NC3, nuclear, policy, president, stability, strategic, Strategy, United States, US, World War II

August 22, 2019

The Non-State Dimensions of Nuclear Command, Control, Communications

Dr. Gary Ackerman introduces how violent non-state actors (VSNAs) may approach the command and control of nuclear weapons and suggests that understanding the complexity presented by VNSA NC3 entails considering traditional concepts of state NC3 and dynamics that are unique to non-state actors driven by a variety of goals and confronting a different set of constraints from those of states.

August 29, 2019

Eye See You

Over the past several decades, technological innovation has created many opportunities for multinational corporations and government institutions to serve customers globally, be it individuals, brands, governments, and civil society. Yet, this innovation has brought with it enormous responsibility and a challenge to protect both individual and consumer privacy, writes Vera Zakem.

China, data protection, democracy, European Union, facial recognition, GDPR, Russia, United States

June 10, 2020