Monitoring and verification in arms control

The US and Russia signed a START Treaty on 8 April 2010, which included an annex to permit the continuation of some monitoring and verification provisions.

The report reviews some of the monitoring and verification provisions in the new treaty, compares them with some provisions in the original treaty and focuses on differences between the treaties in the provisions governing the exchange of data, known as telemetry, generated during missile flight tests; provisions governing the monitoring of mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and differences in the numbers and types of on-site inspections.

The report also provides background information about the role that the terms and tools play in the verification process and highlights how the provisions interact with the limits and restrictions in a treaty to provide confidence in compliance.