Cooperative Threat Success Stories

Cooperative Threat Reduction Directorate

CTR SUCCESS STORIES

THE SOUTHEAST ASIA MARITIME WMD PROLIFERATION THREAT COUNTER TERRORISM

The U.S. is particularly concerned with North Korean WMD trafficking efforts and, in Southeast Asia, the primary method of transit is through sea lanes. To address this threat, CTR has collaborated with the Governments of Vietnam and the Philippines to develop, install, and sustain systems to surveil territorial waters and interdict suspicious cargo along some of the most likely trafficking routes. In Vietnam, CTR is partnering with the Vietnamese Coast Guard (VCG) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) to provide WMD detection equipment, training, and infrastructure improvements. CTR projects include construction of training centers and vessel haul-out and maintenance facilities in all four VCG regions. These capabilities reduce maintenance and training costs for the VCG allowing for increased capability to patrol, enforce maritime law, and interdict illicit traffickers along Vietnam’s nearly 2,000-mile coast and throughout Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone.

CTR has also provided similar enhancements to the Philippines Coast Guard, which contributed to the successful interdiction of the North Korean cargo vessel, Jin Teng.

CTR provided maintenance facilities for the Vietnamese Coast Guard

THE NEXUS OF CWMD AND COUNTER TERRORISM

The CTR Program has projects in Lebanon and Jordan to address cross-border WMD threats stemming from the conflict in Syria. CTR is building an integrated border surveillance system that enables the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to deter, detect, and interdict WMD and WMD-related materials in transit across Lebanon’s 375-km border with Syria. This involves providing surveillance equipment at border outposts for border segments covered by four of Lebanon’s six Land Border Regiments.

CTR has also worked with Jordan to deploy an integrated border surveillance system that enables Jordan to deter, detect, and interdict WMD-related trafficking along Jordan’s borders with Syria and Iraq and to maintain operational capability in the event of a WMD event. This involves providing equipment and training to improve core proliferation-prevention capabilities of the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF).

These projects provide Jordan and Lebanon with the equipment and training needed to monitor their borders with Syria and Iraq, enabling them to interdict attempts to illegally move chemical agents or other WMD materials into Lebanon and Jordan for possible use by ISIS or other violent extremists.

LAF Operator using an endoscope for vehicle inspection during field training

LAF Operator using a density meter for vehicle inspection during field training

NUCLEAR SECURITY: TRANSPORT AND SECURE

Protecting weapons useable nuclear material remains one of the highest priorities for the CTR Program. Being prepared to transport weapons useable and high-threat radiological material to secure locations is a critical part of protecting these nuclear materials. In 2017 and 2018, CTR worked with the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Transportation Command, and allies in Europe to repatriate nuclear material from Europe to the United States. These scheduled transfers provided excellent opportunities to refine the complex processes and coordination needed to move materials requiring the utmost protection and security. The lessons learned from moving nuclear materials will permit CTR to respond more quickly to future needs to safely transport material interdicted by allies who do not have secure facilities for long-term storage.

C-17 certified to transport nuclear materials

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