The Treaty Between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) is the successor of the monumental START I and II initiatives signed in the 1990s.

As a bilateral treaty between the two countries with the largest nuclear stockpiles, New START and its predecessors were some of the most successful arms control agreements in history. Thousands of nuclear weapons have been destroyed as part of the treaty’s obligations. However, since the advent of their invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation has suspended its participation in the treaty, although it continues to abide by several key provisions.

Following the expiration of START in 2009, the Russian Federation and the United States commenced the drafting of a successor treaty shortly after. With most of its provisions closely resembling its predecessors’, New START is an important part of the modern nuclear arms control regime.

New START imposes three central limits on the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Russian Federation:

• 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), deployed submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and deployed heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments;
• 1,550 nuclear warheads on deployed ICBMs, deployed SLBMs, and deployed heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments (each such heavy bomber is counted as one warhead toward this limit);
• 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments.

The treaty contains extensive verification measures. It sanctions 18 on-site inspections per year, for both Russian and American teams. Furthermore, both parties must fulfill extensive data and telemetric exchanges. The treaty also establishes a Bilateral Consultative Commission, which facilitates dialogue between the two parties.