GLOSSARY OF INF TERMS
Aggregate Number of Missiles. The total number of deployed and nondeployed intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles for each side, listed in the Treaty's Memorandum of Understanding.
Ballistic Missile. A missile whose flight is rocket propelled and whose trajectory is primarily determined by gravitational forces after termination of powered flight.
Basing Country. A country other than the United States and former Soviet Union where treaty-limited missiles and related support equipment are located. U.S. basing countries are the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Belgium, and The Netherlands. Prior to the reunification of Germany and the breakup of Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and Czechoslovakia were basing countries for the Soviet Union. The U.S. still has the treaty right to conduct inspections in the territory of the former GDR and in the independent Czech and Slovak Republics.
Cruise Missile. A missile that, like an airplane, sustains flight by aerodynamic means over most of its flight path.
Deployment Area. A geographic area in which intermediate-range missiles and their launchers, which are to be eliminated under the INF Treaty, are permitted to be operated and moved about freely without notification to the other party until they are eliminated. A deployment area contains one or more missile operating bases (MOBs).
Deployed Missile/Launcher. A missile or launcher located inside a deployment area. Deployed status in terms of the INF Treaty is dependent on the location of a missile launcher, not its operational capability.
Elimination Procedures. Procedures for destroying missiles, launchers, support equipment and facilities covered in the INF Treaty.
Entry into Force. A date, agreed to by both Parties to the Treaty, when the provisions of the Treaty go into effect. This date was June 1, 1988, after ratification by the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union and the exchange of instruments of ratification at the Moscow Summit.
Intermediate-Range Missile. A ground-launched cruise or ballistic missile with a range equal to or greater than 1000 km but not more than 5,500 km (roughly 300 to 3,400 miles), previously referred to as longer-range INF missiles.
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). An implementing agreement signed on December 21, 1989, pursuant to Article XIII of the Treaty, that enhances the viability, effectiveness and implementation of the Treaty.
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The section of the INF Treaty which identifies by number, type, location and technical characteristics the items to be eliminated by the INF Treaty. Photographs of treaty-limited systems and site diagrams which define the boundaries of missile operating bases and missile support facilities and identify buildings used to contain treaty-limited items at these locations are attached to the MOU.
Missile Operating Base (MOB). The military installation inside a deployment area which actively supports the operation of deployed INF missiles.
Missile Support Facilities (MSF). Facilities, not in a deployment area, connected with production, repair, training, storage, testing or elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles and launchers.
National Technical Means (NTM). Techniques, such as taking pictures from photo-reconnaissance satellites, which are strictly under national control and are used to monitor compliance with the provisions of an agreement.
Nondeployed Missile/Launcher. A missile or launcher not located at a deployment area or MOB, but rather at a missile support facility (MSF) or in transit.
NTM Enhancement. Under this provision, one side may request the other to remove its land-mobile ground-launched ballistic missiles which have a range greater than 5,500 km (greater than roughly 3,400 miles) from their shelters and to open the shelter roofs for at least six hours for observation by NTM. Each side was permitted to make such a request up to six times annually during the first three years of the INF Treaty. This procedure was intended to confirm that the SS-25 bases did not house treaty-limited items. (The SS-25 missile is an intercontinental missile, and therefore not covered by the INF Treaty.)
Nuclear Risk Reduction Center (NRRC). Established by a U.S./Soviet agreement signed in September 1987, the Centers were instituted to reduce the risk of war between the U.S. and USSR that might result from accidents, misunderstandings or miscalculations. Under that agreement, the United States and USSR created a new communications channel linking Washington, D.C. and Moscow. Under the INF Treaty, the sides use the Centers to transmit all the notifications required by the Treaty. Today, NRRC (or NRRC equivalents) exist in the United States, Belarus, Kazakstan, Russia and Ukraine to transmit INF notifications.
On-Site Inspection. Procedures in the Treaty involving the dispatch of personnel to specific sites to help a Party to the Treaty verify the compliance of the other Party with INF treaty obligations. These include: Baseline Inspections to help verify the initial number of declared treaty-limited items, e.g., missiles and launchers, at each missile operating base or military support facility; Closeout Inspections to help verify that treaty-limited items no longer exist at a designated missile operating base or missile support facility; Continuous Portal Monitoring in which a resident inspection team inspects vehicles/ rail cars that exit the main gate of a designated missile production facility to determine whether or not treaty-limited items are leaving the facility. This system can remain in place for up to 13 years. The U.S. currently conducts portal monitoring at Votkinsk, Russia, while the former Soviet Union conducts portal monitoring at Magna, Utah; and, Quota or "Short-notice" Inspections to verify the absence of treaty-limited items at declared/formerly declared missile operating bases or missile support facilities.
Shorter-Range Missile. A ground-launched cruise or ballistic missile with a range equal to or greater than 500 but not more than 1,000 km (roughly from 300 to 600 miles).
Special Verification Commission (SVC). The special negotiating forum established by the Treaty which the U.S. and former Soviet delegations can use to resolve INF compliance and implementation issues.
Current as of July 1996
Source: On-Site Inspection Agency