Global Security Newswire

The U.S. Air Force last week launched the first of a number of satellites intended to monitor for signs of a nuclear test detonation, the National Nuclear Security Administration announced (see GSN, Aug. 11, 2009).

The IIF Global Positioning System satellites are expected to incorporate refined scanning gear developed by the Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories in New Mexico.

"The deployment of these new instruments will significantly improve our ability to detect atmospheric or space-based nuclear explosions and verify compliance with nuclear test ban treaties," NNSA Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator Ken Baker said in a statement. “The launch advances President [Barack] Obama’s broader nuclear nonproliferation agenda and strengthens the NNSA-USAF partnership that has ensured continuous global nuclear detonation detection coverage for nearly half a century" (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, May 28).