New START
Quick Summary
The New START treaty was an arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, aimed at reducing their nuclear arsenals. It limited each side to 1,550 deployed strategic warheads and 800 delivery vehicles, with specific caps on deployed ballistic missile launchers and bombers. This represented a significant reduction from previous agreements like SORT.12
The START negotiations, which began in 1982, evolved over decades, witnessing the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. The original START I treaty, signed in 1991, set limits on warheads and delivery vehicles, with subsequent phases aiming for further reductions. START II was negotiated but never entered into force. SORT, signed in 2002, further reduced warhead numbers. New START built upon these efforts, with its terms extended beyond its initial expiration in 2021.2
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