Nato-Astec-Matrix—Research Environment, Information Sharing and Mc&A

The weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats facing the world are constantly evolving and have grown more complex since the end of the Cold War. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the former soviet republics inherited the world's largest arsenal of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) materials. The republics also inherited the technologies needed to create weapons of mass destruction. The absence of security systems, accounting systems and controls for export of technology, materials and missile programs poses one of the most serious threats to international security because the possibility of diversion of CBRN materials and technologies to rogue nations and terrorist organizations has increased.