How nuclear power around the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic Instant news

The 319 Missile Squadron member of the Launch Control Center at Warren F.E. Base Air Force, Wyoming, 2016. Portrait of the U.S. Air Force by chief pilot Jason Fizi.

In the past few weeks, the coronavirus has caused at least some tone of deaf comments by US defense officials about the readiness of their nuclear forces. In mid-March, US Strategic Command chief Admiral Charles Richard convinced his audience that the US nuclear forces were not affected by the epidemic and that they were “still ready to implement the country’s strategic prevention mission.” As a result, Admiral Richard told his fans that the United States was still capable of launching widespread nuclear retaliation that would surely kill millions of people. Likewise, in early April, the US Air Force chief of attack on popular mechanics was informed that, despite the outbreak of COVID-19, “nuclear energy is still ready to fly.” These officials seem unaware of the idea that, with the epidemic that has caused so much fear and fear, it may now not be the best time to remind the audience of other ways the world could end up.

However, the rhetoric of the US nuclear mission and its counterparts around the world is highly dependent on people, and people are exactly what the virus is looking for. A few days after Admiral Richard gave a briefing, Newsweek stated that “the food unit [US Strategic Command] It contains 106 cumulative regular personnel who are not in service due to the coronavirus, either due to a confirmed case or “personal protective quarantine.” On April 9, Hans Christensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, tweeted that all of the United States nuclear bases except for one confirmed case COVID-19.

All US nuclear bases (with one exception) now have a Corona virus case:

Barksdale AFB (launcher) F.E. Warren AFB (Launcher) Kirtland AFB (Storage) Low AFB (Launcher / ICBM) Offutt AFB (NC3) Whitman AFB (Launcher) Kings Bay (SSBNs) Kitsap-Bangor (SSBNs) https://t.co/6HbMUjGOZAwarkin pic .twitter .com / 2YRrPp7Rpy

– Hans Christensen (Nokristat), April 9, 2020

So, if the world’s nuclear power does not feel the stress of an epidemic, it may only be a matter of time until you feel it. In fact, some countries take additional precautions to reduce potential risks. But each country with nuclear weapons has different accounts to do, and some aspects of these weapons may be more vulnerable to viruses than others.

weakness point. The British nuclear deterrent relies on one platform, the submarine. In early April, the London Times reported that two of Britain’s four nuclear-armed submarines had been repaired over the past year.

With only two submarines remaining operational, the British Royal Navy had no margin of error in dealing with the coronavirus. Sebastian Brixie Williams, co-director of the British-British Security Information Council based in London, raised this issue strongly. That Time writes report: “Asking in-depth questions about how to prepare [Royal Navy] COVID-19 pandemic is overcome. If the Trident submarine patrols only to know that a sailor is carrying the virus, the captain will have no choice but to return to the port or if it does not endanger the life of the crew. “This could make an unprecedented breakthrough in the British deterrent mission, which, at least in theory, needs to be bothered if it is to remain reliable,” said Brixie Williams.

Of course, Britain has a backup: NATO. “Because this system is in a broader position to prevent NATO, this does not mean that the UK has to add more repetition at great expense,” Brixi Williams said in an email.

Britain is not the only country whose fleet is at risk. The United States, Russia and France, all dependent to some extent on nuclear-armed ballistic missiles at sea, may face the same problem. But the United States has 14 nuclear-armed submarines, and Russia has 10 submarines, although some are under maintenance at certain times. However, the relative effects of the loss of a single vessel due to coronavirus outbreaks will be less severe for these countries. The French fleet, although having only four nuclear-capable submarines, did not suffer from the same maintenance problems as the British fleet.

Tong Zhao, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said in a bulletin that China’s nuclear submarine fleet is also vulnerable to viruses. Compared to ground-based missile forces and aircraft units, submarines face a greater challenge due to their inability to receive external support during deployment and because of the relative lack of operational experience. However, it is not known whether Chinese submarines actually carry nuclear weapons on patrol, and as a general practice, China keeps its nuclear warheads separate from cargo vehicles during peacetime. As a result, China is more dependent on triple legs at sea compared to western nuclear power.

The threat of a pandemic against the Navy is not purely theoretical. The only French aircraft carrier, which was instrumental in the Air Force’s nuclear strike mission, returned home on April 12 with at least 50 cases on board. In addition, Forbes reported that “the entire Russian crew [non-nuclear armed] The submarine was reportedly isolated after indirect contact with the confirmed COVID-19 case. At least four different U.S. aircraft carriers have reported cases of COVID-19, including several widely deployed USS Theodore Roosevelt, which have been forced to return to the port in Guam and its demobilized commander.

Another potential weakness for China comes from the fact that it maintains nuclear warheads in constant circulation between central storage at a base in the Qingling Mountains and other locations. According to a 2010 report by Mark Stokes, a former US defense official and expert on Chinese nuclear forces, the regiment responsible for moving warheads “operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep the warheads in circulation” between the central storage complex and six smaller storage facilities At different missile base. This may be the most important person to maintain his health if the country faces a second rise in the situation.

For each country, the top of the chain of command is another potential point of failure. For example, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has the sole authority in his government to allow a nuclear attack, became his first supporter in the world to have a positive test for the Coronavirus on March 27, was hospitalized on April 5, and he must move to intensive care on 6 April. Only with this latest development did he decide to appoint Dominic Rap, his foreign minister, who is in charge of the government. “Johnson will likely hand over the official nuclear launch power to … Dominic Rap (or for any other reason, other actors)” at that time as well, Brixy Williams said. (Johnson has since been released from the hospital, but he has not returned to work.)

Preventive measure. However, this is possible, according to a 2019 report by nuclear experts Geoffrey Lewis and Bruno Tetris, that the British Prime Minister will appoint several nuclear representatives in his government after taking office to avoid the need to make such decisions during the crisis.

In fact, every country with nuclear weapons has emergency authorization procedures – a plan for whoever holds the nuclear key if the leader suddenly gets paralyzed. In many countries this remains a secret, but in the United States the vice president takes over as president, while in Russia he is the prime minister, or, in some emergency cases, the defense minister.

In addition to routine safeguards, governments are also taking more specific steps to prevent risks to their nuclear energy.

Newsweek reported in March that the US Department of Defense had reduced and canceled several military exercises and deployments to focus on important operations. For example, the recent B-2 mission to Europe felt shorter than in previous years, according to Kristensen. He was eager to show that it was not clear if the job was officially cut short due to COVID-19.

On nuclear armed submarines, some countries placed their sailors in isolation 14 days before departure. In this way, every person infected with the virus will have symptoms and can be withdrawn from the crew before the ship begins a two-month patrol at sea.

The country’s Rocket Force China, which controls ground ballistic missiles, is taking precautions to maintain the highest level of preparedness. “One step, for example, is training missiles for everyone who has mastered the skills for more than one position, so all units can do tasks with less than ordinary people on duty,” said Zhao.

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