New START was a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and Russia with the formal name of Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It was signed on 8 April 2010 in Prague, and after ratification it entered into force on 5 February 2011. New START replaced the Treaty of Moscow (SORT), which was to expire in December 2012. It followed the START I treaty, which expired in December 2009; the proposed START II treaty which never entered into force; and the START III treaty, for which negotiations were never concluded. The treaty called for halving the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers. It also called for the establishment of a new inspection and verification regime, replacing the SORT mechanism. It did not limit the number of operationally inactive nuclear warheads that can be stockpiled. On 21 February 2023, Russia suspended its participation in New START. However, it did not withdraw from the treaty, and clarified that it would continue to abide by the numerical limits in the treaty. On 5 February 2026, the treaty officially expired.
Overview
The treaty limited the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads for each party to 1,550, which was down nearly two-thirds from the original START treaty, as well as 10% lower than the deployed strategic warhead limit of the 2002 Moscow Treaty. The total number of deployed warheads could exceed the 1,550 limit by a few hundred because only one warhead is counted per bomber regardless of how many it actually carries. The treaty also limited the number of deployed and non-deployed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers, submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments to 800. The number of deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments was limited to 700. The treaty allowed for satellite and remote monitoring, as well as 18 on-site inspections per year to verify limits.
The obligations had to be met within seven years from the date the treaty entered into force. The treaty was set to last ten years, with an option to renew it for up to five years upon the agreement of both parties. The treaty entered into force on 5 February 2011, when the United States and Russia exchanged instruments of ratification, following approval by the U.S. Senate and the Federal Assembly of Russia. The United States began implementing the reductions before the treaty was ratified. Documents made available to the U.S. Senate described removal from service of at least 30 missile silos, 34 bombers, and 56 submarine launch tubes. Missiles which were removed would stay intact, and bombers could be converted to conventional use. Four of the twenty-four launchers on each of the fourteen ballistic missile nuclear submarines would be removed, and none retired. The treaty placed no limits on tactical systems. In July 2010, Rebecca Grant for Air & Space Forces Magazine reported that no limit was placed on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, which would most likely be replacing the F-15E and F-16 in the tactical nuclear delivery role. The treaty did not cover rail-mobile ICBM launchers because neither party possessed such systems at the time. ICBMs on such launchers would be covered under the generic launcher limits, but the inspection details for such systems would have to be worked out between the parties if such systems were reintroduced in the future.
History
Drafting and signature The New START treaty was the successor to the START I. The START II was signed but not ratified and the START III negotiating process was not successful. The drafting of the treaty commenced in April 2009 immediately after the meeting between the presidents of the two countries involved, Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, in London. Preliminary talks had already been held in Rome on 27 April, although it was initially planned to have them scheduled in the middle of May. Prolonged talks were conducted by U.S. and Russian delegations, led on the American side by U.S. State Department assistant secretary Rose Gottemoeller. The Russian delegation was headed by Anatoly Antonov, director of security and disarmament at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Talks were held on:
First round: 19–20 May 2009, Moscow Second round: 1–3 June 2009, Geneva, Switzerland Third round: 22–24 June 2009, Geneva Fourth round: 22–24 July 2009, Geneva Fifth round: 31 August – 2 September 2009, Geneva Sixth round: 21–28 September 2009, Geneva Seventh round: 19–30 October 2009, Geneva Eighth round: 9 November 2009, Geneva On the morning of 6 July 2009, the agreement on the text of the "Joint Understanding on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms" was announced, which Medvedev and Obama signed during the US presidential visit to Moscow which began on the same day. The document listed the intention of both parties to reduce the number of nuclear warheads to 1,500–1,675 units, as well as their delivery weapons to 500–1,100 units. Presidents Obama and Medvedev announced on 26 March 2010 that they had reached an agreement, and they signed the treaty on 8 April 2010 in Prague.
Ratification process
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