Russian Presidential Executive Office, CC BY 4.0
New START is the latest iteration of Russian and US nuclear arms reduction agreements. Signed on 8 April 2010, the legally binding document contains three tiers and entered into force on 5 February 2011. It was extended by five years, two days before the end of its duration in 2021 by the US and Russia.
Why It Matters
New START addresses the limitations of strategic nuclear weapons and the verification mechanisms of its predecessors, START I and SORT. According to the terms of the treaty, both parties agreed to limit their strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550 and their deployed and non-deployed launchers, intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers, submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and heavy bombers to 800. Within that limit, the number of deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers cannot exceed 700.
Verification of the treaty includes satellite monitoring, aerial surveillance, electronic and seismic monitoring, and is based on the 1991 START I Treaty. The January 2021 agreement preserves the status of the agreement until 2026. It is the only binding nuclear arms control agreement remaining in force between Russia and the US.
Further materials:
https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/NewSTART
https://www.nbr.org/publication/new-start-one-year-later/
