NSD is the sole United Kingdom (UK) focus in the United States (US) for collaboration under the 58MDA. It operates the Atomic Coordinating Office (Washington) set up under that agreement.

Nuclear & Strategic Defence (NSD) is responsible for policy, technical programmes, materiel acquisition and exchange, information exchange, meetings and clearances on nuclear warhead and propulsion issues under the 1958 Agreement for Co-operation on the Uses of Atomic Energy for Mutual Defence Purposes (58MDA).

Our work includes the following:

• Acting as focus for technical liaison on nuclear weapons and nuclear propulsion
• Liaising on classification and other security matters.
• Arranging visits to UK and US establishments.
• Processing personnel security clearances for international visits

Objective

To sustain, improve and deepen UK/US collaboration on defence nuclear technology, including nuclear warhead and naval nuclear propulsion technologies and programmes to enable UK requirements to be met in a cost-effective and timely manner.

UK Customers

NSD acts for and on behalf of the following UK-based groups: Director General Strategic Technologies; Team Leader Nuclear Weapons; Team Leader Nuclear Propulsion; Director Chemical Biological Radiological & Nuclear Policy; Director General Strategic Requirements; Director Deterrent Options, Director Deterrence, Managing Director Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Contact

NSD can be contacted at:

NSD
BDS - US
British Embassy
3100 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington. DC 20008

General Phone No 202 588-6710
General fax number 202 588-6714

Head of Nuclear and Strategic Defence

The current Head of Nuclear and Strategic Defence (NSD) is Mr Robin Pitman Counsellor and Attaché (Defence). He was appointed in May 2003.