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Nuclear weapons

Nuclear weapons

Wassenaar Arrangement

The recent protests against Microsoft over allegations that its Azure cloud services were used to support Israeli military operations, and the concerns about the Wassenaar Arrangement’s export control framework, highlight the growing ethical, legal, and security challenges in regulating dual-use technologies. What is the Wassenaar Arrangement? The Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) is a multilateral export control regime designed to regulate the international trade of sensitive dual-use technologies and conventional arms. It was established in 1996 in Wassenaar, Netherlands, and was designed to replace the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom) that operated during the Cold War. The Wassenaar Arrangement aims…

31 October, 2025 Nuclear weapons

Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement

The Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PMDA) is a significant arms control deal aimed at reducing the risk of nuclear proliferation and securing the disposal of excess weapons-grade plutonium, which both Russia and the United States accumulated during the Cold War. Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PMDA) Background and Purpose: The PMDA was signed in 2000 between the U.S. and Russia, and came into force in 2011. The agreement was born out of the need to dispose of the vast stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium that both nations had after dismantling nuclear warheads from the Cold War. Both countries were left…

28 October, 2025 Nuclear weapons

Agni-P (Prime) missile

Agni-P (Prime) missile A new-generation nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Agni-P (Prime) was successfully test-fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The test was conducted at 10.55 a.m. from the Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam island, Balasore, off the coast of Odisha. Agni-P is a new-generation advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles. It is a canisters missile with a range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 km. Explaining the differences from the earlier Agni class of missiles, a DRDO official said Agni-P had improved parameters, including manoeuvring and accuracy. Canisterisation of missiles reduces the time required to launch the missile…

19 December, 2021 Nuclear weapons

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. IAEA’s genesis was U.S. President Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” address to the United Nations General Assembly in 1953. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization in 1957 and was not under the direct control of the UN. But it reports to both the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Though established independently of the United Nations through its…

21 June, 2021 Nuclear weapons

China, India, Pak. expanding nuclear arsenal

China, India, Pak. expanding nuclear arsenal China is in the middle of significant modernisation and expansion of its nuclear weapon inventory, and India and Pakistan also appear to be expanding their nuclear arsenals, according to the Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Year Book 2021. The overall number of warheads in global military stockpiles now appears to be increasing, a worrisome sign that the declining trend that has characterised global nuclear arsenals since the end of the Cold War has stalled. According to the yearbook, India possessed an estimated 156 nuclear warheads at the start of 2021,…

15 June, 2021 Nuclear weapons

DRDO test fires Agni P missile

DRDO test fires Agni P missile Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested a New Generation Nuclear Capable Ballistic Missile Agni P from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha, Balasore at 1055 hrs on June 28, 2021. Various telemetry and radar stations positioned along the eastern coast tracked and monitored the missile. The missile followed a textbook trajectory, meeting all mission objectives with a high level of accuracy. Agni P is a new generation advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles. It is a canisters missile with a range capability between 1,000 and…

07 June, 2021 Nuclear weapons

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