A Short History of Arms Control Treaties

From the 1963 Limited Test Ban to New START, arms control evolved through eras, the golden age of SALT and the ABM Treaty, the deep cuts of START, the chemical and biological bans, and the erosion as treaty after treaty expired or was abandoned.

New START lapsed in February 2026, leaving no binding limits on US and Russian strategic forces.

The architecture took fifty years to build and little more than a decade to lose.