Technical Note: Israel can be supplied B-21 Heavy Bomber Without Violating the New Start Treaty

Technical Note: Israel can be supplied B-21 Heavy Bomber Without Violating
the New Start Treaty
Dr. Aaron Lerner
1 November, 2020

Article III 7 (c) of the The New Start Treaty between the United States
and Russia provides that “Heavy bombers of the same type shall cease to be
subject to this Treaty or to the limitations thereof when the last heavy
bomber equipped for nuclear armaments of that type is eliminated or
converted, as appropriate, to a heavy bomber.”

PROTOCOL TO THE TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE RUSSIAN
FEDERATION ON MEASURES FOR THE FURTHER REDUCTION AND LIMITATION OF STRATEGIC
OFFENSIVE ARMS
PART THREE – CONVERSION OR ELIMINATION PROCEDURES
Section V. 3 (a) and (b) describes the conversion procedure ” to render them
incapable of employing nuclear armaments”

In 2015 The United States declared that they were going to render B-25H
heavy bombers incapable of employing nuclear armaments by “removing the
nuclear code enabling switch and interconnecting box, mounting a code
enabling switch inhibitor and interconnecting box inhibitor plate.”

Thus, a B-21 Heavy Bomber made for Israel could be supplied with a code
enabling switch inhibitor and interconnecting box inhibitor plate so that, a
priori, the New Start Treaty does not apply to the platform .

(A copy of the relevant passages from the treaty appears below).

Arming Israel with the B21 and the GBU-57 bunker buster goes well beyond
enabling Israel to address an Iranian nuclear threat with conventional arms,

The GBU-57 is a conventional weapon with the power of a tactical nuclear
weapon.

No one in America wants to risk that the day comes that Israel finds itself
with no choice but to use a tactical nuclear weapon to defend itself as such
a move could start a catastrophic chain of events going far beyond Israel’s
borders.

Thus, when put into this context, a B21 & GBU-57 supply contract for
Israel should be welcomed by all members of Congress regardless of their
attitude towards Israel.

NEW START TREATY
TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION ON
MEASURES FOR THE FURTHER REDUCTION AND LIMITATION OF STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE
ARMS

8. As of the date of signature of this Treaty:
…
(c) Existing types of heavy bombers are:

(i) for the United States of America, the B-52G, B-52H, B-IB, and B-2A;
TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION ON
MEASURES FOR THE FURTHER REDUCTION AND LIMITATION OF STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE
ARMS
…
Article III
…
7. For the purposes of this Treaty:
…
(c) Heavy bombers of the same type shall cease to be subject to this Treaty
or to the limitations thereof when the last heavy bomber equipped for
nuclear armaments of that type is eliminated or converted, as appropriate,
to a heavy bomber equipped for nonnuclear armaments in accordance with Part
Three of the Protocol to this Treaty.
…
PROTOCOL TO THE TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE RUSSIAN
FEDERATION ON MEASURES FOR THE FURTHER REDUCTION AND LIMITATION OF STRATEGIC
OFFENSIVE ARMS

PART THREE – CONVERSION OR ELIMINATION PROCEDURES

Section V. Procedures for Conversion or Elimination of Heavy Bombers
…
3. The conversion process for a heavy bomber equipped for nuclear armaments
to a heavy bomber equipped for non-nuclear armaments shall be carried out
using any of the procedures provided for in this paragraph:

(a) All weapons bays and all external attachments for pylons shall be
modified so as to render them incapable of employing nuclear armaments;

(b) All internal and external launcher assemblies shall be modified so as
to render them incapable of employing nuclear armaments; or

(c) Other procedures that are developed by the Party carrying out the
conversion.
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