The seminar will be held from 12:30 to 2 p.m. (E.T.)
The Pentagon is currently planning to replace its current arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) with a brand-new missile force, known as the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD). Despite concerns over rising costs, the GBSD program has been accelerated in recent years; however, the Pentagon has not offered a convincing articulation of what role these Cold War-era weapons are supposed to play in a post-Cold War security environment. The Federation of American Scientists' new "Siloed Thinking" report, published in March 2021, ultimately suggests that many of the Pentagon's justifications for the program were either based on flawed assumptions, or have since been deprioritized. The report also suggests that the initial outcome favoring a brand-new ICBM replacement program was largely predetermined by arbitrary force requirements and timelines that have little 21st century strategic rationale. These conclusions suggest that the Pentagon’s case for the ICBM replacement program needs to be reevaluated in light of cost escalation and surrounding budgetary pressures.
About the speaker: Matt Korda is Senior Research Associate and Project Manager for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, where he co-authors the Nuclear Notebook with Hans Kristensen. Matt is also an Associate Researcher with the Nuclear Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-proliferation Programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Previously, he worked for the Arms Control, Disarmament, and WMD Non-Proliferation Centre at NATO HQ in Brussels, and received his MA in International Peace & Security from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. He is the author of "Siloed Thinking: A Closer Look at the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent," published by the Federation of American Scientists in March 2021.