November 23, 2009

Time for a Missile Test Ban

Last updated: June 24, 2009

Authors

Bharath Gopalaswamy

Jürgen Scheffran
Professor of Climate Change and Security, Institute of Geography and KlimaCampus, University of Hamburg (Germany)

Published by Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

June 2009

Summary

Missile tests are occurring with alarming frequency these days—see recent activities by North Korea and Iran. So the time might be right to seek a global missile test ban, say the authors of this op-ed article.

Article highlights:

  • No legal structure currently exists to regulate missile development or testing, allowing missile tests to occur with increasing frequency.

  • The limits of the Missile Technology Control Regime require new approaches for international missile control.

  • A missile test ban, combined with space-launch monitoring, would be an effective obstacle to large-scale missile development.


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