Nuclear Policy News - May 5, 2026

[Ellen Thomas]

Your daily briefing of the nuclear policy news and analysis. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Good afternoon, Here is the Nuclear Policy News for Tuesday, May 5, 2026. Please see the following upcoming opportunities:  We are now accepting applications for the Mid-Career Cadre Class of 2027. The Mid-Career Cadre is a select group of nuclear professionals that have been in the field for 7 or more years and demonstrate promise for moving into leadership positions or bringing new ideas and perspectives to the field. Cadre members come from technical, policy, academic, and military backgrounds. Upon selection, Cadre members participate for a one-year term. Applications are due by 11:59 PM EST on June 30, 2026. Please find additional information here. USSTRATCOM has opened submissions for the Larry D. Welch Deterrence Writing Award. The winning author in each category will be recognized with an award, publication in a peer-reviewed journal, and travel funding to attend the 2025 Deterrence Symposium. Papers are due by May 31, 2026, and more information on the competition can be found here. If others in your community are interested in the NPN, please encourage them to join our mailing list.    Best, Kaleya Williams   Nuclear Policy News – May 5, 2026  United States   Inside the effort to replace America's Minuteman III nuclear missiles CBS News May 5, 2026 READ FULL ARTICLE HERE Flying in over the Wyoming prairie aboard the Air Force's new Grey Wolf helicopter, the commanders of U.S. Strategic Command and Air Force Global Strike Command are taking us to a place that was once so highly secure that trespassers could be shot on sight — a Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, or ICBM, silo.  New Nuclear Bunker Bomb Plans Revealed The War Zone May 1, 2026 READ FULL ARTICLE HERE The Department of Energy is seeking millions of dollars for work in part on a new bunker-busting nuclear weapon called the Nuclear Deterrent System-Air-delivered (NDS-A) in its latest budget request. Report to Congress on Russia’s Nuclear Weapons US Naval Institute May 1, 2026 READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE According to the Pentagon’s 2026 National Defense Strategy, Russia “possesses the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, which it continues to modernize and diversify, as well as undersea, space, and cyber capabilities that it could employ against the U.S. Homeland.”   Europe   IAEA says drone damaged equipment at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine Reuters May 4, 2026 READ FULL ARTICLE HERE The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, was seized by Russian forces in the early weeks of Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Each side has since regularly accused the other of military action which could compromise safety at the plant, located near the war's front line. ​​​​​​ANALYSIS: France’s Big Bet on Nuclear Forward Deterrence The National Interest - Abdulla Ibrahim May 1, 2026  READ FULL ARTICLE HERE  France has clear and compelling reasons to invite allied NATO nations into its nuclear decision-making process, although challenges remain. Almost a minute to midnight: Cambridge helps launch open course on nuclear weapons as global tensions rise University of Cambridge  May 5, 2026 READ FULL ARTICLE HERE The new Director of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk warns that a new nuclear arms race may be underway, as more countries consider or seek to expand their arsenals.   Middle East Exclusive: US intelligence indicates limited new damage to Iran's nuclear program, sources say Reuters May 5, 2026 READ FULL ARTICLE HERE  U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that the time Iran would ​need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a U.S.-Israeli attack had pushed back the timeline to up to a year, according to three sources familiar ‌with the matter. Asia​​​​​​ Central Asia celebrates 20 years as a nuclear-weapon-free zone UN News May 1, 2026 READ FULL ARTICLE HERE The accord, which brought together Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, enshrines the voluntary commitment of these States not to develop, acquire, test or deploy nuclear weapons.   The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a bipartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 1962 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It seeks to advance global security and prosperity by providing strategic insights and policy solutions to decisionmakers. The views expressed in the articles and analysis above do not necessarily reflect those of the individual sending the newsletter, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or the Project on Nuclear Issues.          Copyright © 2026 CSIS, All rights reserved. 202-887-0200 | www.nuclearnetwork.CSIS.org

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