Is Sacramento in Russia’s nuclear crosshairs? Putin named this airport as a nuke target
Fresh off of promising a new Cuban Missile Crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened a nuclear strike on key American targets, using a state-run television broadcast to identify the targets, which included the Pentagon, Camp David and Sacramento McClellan Airport.
It was unclear why Russia named McClellan as a target. While today McClellan is a privately owned airport, open to public use, it previously served as a U.S. Air Force base from 1936 (it was renamed in 1939) to 2001. The Air Force base was closed by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission as a result of the Cold War ending.
Though it is no longer a military base, McClellan is the site of UC Davis’ McClellan Nuclear Research Center.
Putin’s remarks come at a new high in nuclear tension in the world; President Donald Trump, who recently announced plans to withdraw the United States from a nuclear nonproliferation treaty with Russia, has flown to Vietnam to meet Kim Jong Un, dictator of the burgeoning nuclear power North Korea.
Also in Asia, tensions escalated between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan after the former launched an air strike on the latter.
All this comes as the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, now chaired by ex-California Gov. Jerry Brown, announced that the Doomsday Clock will remain two minutes to midnight, which measures humanity’s proximity to annihilation.
McClatchy has reached out to the management of Sacramento McClellan Airport, as well as representatives from the Sacramento County Office of Emergency Services, the U.S. Coast Guard and Cal Fire’s air firefighting wing, which is stationed at the site. This story will be updated if further information becomes available.
This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 12:13 PM.
