Overview

The Nation's strategic deterrent is the foundation upon which all our defense efforts are built. We simply cannot allow it to weaken or to crack, and yet we have neglected it for some time while other nations have not only invested in their nuclear systems but advanced their capability. Our strategic deterrent consists of the delivery systems, the three legs of the triad, and also the nuclear weapons themselves and the command and control over those systems. Our Minuteman III missiles were first fielded in 1970; our B-52 and B-2 bombers were first deployed in the 1950s and the 1980s; our ballistic missile submarines began entering service in 1981 and, like the other legs of the triad, have a limited lifespan. The warheads themselves were largely designed and built in the 1970s or before, and the last time a warhead was fully tested was 1991. And so, for some years some of our most brilliant scientists and engineers have been working to keep these complex machines safe, secure, reliable, and credible without being able to test the entire weapon. They have done so in aging, neglected facilities with an aging workforce. Similarly, the command and control systems for our deterrent have not received the attention something so vital should have received. And meanwhile, our potential adversaries develop and field new delivery systems and they develop and field new weapons. And confidence in the U.S. strategic deterrent erodes.

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9781982031787

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