Pentagon President Mark Esper visited the US strategic nuclear base in North Dakota, where he announced the need to support the Trump administration’s military budget, which includes a program to modernize the US nuclear triad.

According to the head of the US defense department, billions of dollars spent on improving the nuclear arsenal are necessary in order to keep up with Russia and outstrip China in this area.

“Both Russia and China are modernizing and expanding their nuclear arsenals,” Associated Press quoted Esper as saying. “All three components of the nuclear triad need modernization; this is critical to maintaining strategic deterrence.” The last word is the key: we strive to deter the war ... we must be confident in the effectiveness, security, reliability and thoroughness of our nuclear triad and related systems. "

In 2018, Russia introduced a fundamentally new type of weapon on a hypersonic basis, which showed superiority over the United States, correspondent of the Academy of Military Sciences, political scientist Sergei Sudakov noted in an interview with RT.

“The United States has sufficiently powerful nuclear forces, but the good and the best are always two big differences. Esper now acts as a “promoter,” who must show that America has potential. The problem is that in addition to replacing missiles and aircraft, it is not very clear what the modernization will be. There is no global plan that would instantly change the balance of power, ”said the expert.

Necessary replacements

It is worth noting that Esper announced the need to modernize the nuclear arsenal while on a visit to the base where two of the three main components of the US strategic triad are located - the B-52 Stratofortress bomber and Minuteman III missiles.

  • Minuteman III rocket launch
  • Reuters
  • © US Air Force / Senior Airman Ian Dudley

Minuteman III - one of the oldest intercontinental ballistic missiles that are still in service. In August 2018, the Pentagon celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first test launch of this rocket, although initially the life of Minuteman III was only ten years.

During the Cold War, Minuteman III was specially designed so that they could reach the most remote corners of the Soviet Union from the United States. The range of their flight is 13 thousand km.

Despite the venerable age of Minuteman III, the US Strategic Command considers it to be the most operational part of the nuclear triad. It is assumed that in the event of a potential nuclear war, their calculations should have the least problems in communicating with the command. Today, 400 such missiles are located in launch mines in the United States.

Over the past few years, the US military has regularly conducted test launches of Minuteman III missiles to confirm their combat readiness. The last such launch took place on February 5 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The modernization program provides for the replacement of Minuteman III missiles, the construction of Columbia-class submarine-launched missile carriers and the commissioning of the new B-21 Raider strategic bomber (it will replace the B-2 aircraft, while the B-52 veteran will remain in service, receiving new engines) .

To replace a large amount of obsolete weapons, the White House and the Pentagon will require impressive funds. In a draft budget submitted to the US Congress for 2021, the Trump administration requested $ 2.8 billion for the Raider bomber development program and another $ 1.5 billion for the creation of new-generation missiles. In total, nearly $ 46 billion is planned to be spent on maintaining the US nuclear arsenal in 2021.

However, this is far from all the expenses Washington will have to go to catch up with Russia and get ahead of China. So, back in 2017, the Congressional Budget Office submitted a report according to which the first 10 years of modernization would cost $ 500 billion, and within 30 years, the costs of the nuclear arsenal and triad would amount to $ 1.2 trillion.

Chinese factor

According to the head of the department of political science and sociology G.V. Andrei Koshkin Plekhanov, one of the main goals of Washington’s current nuclear weapons policy is to contain China, which is investing heavily in developing its nuclear arsenal.

“Beijing today is actively improving its capabilities in this area and seeks to catch up with Russia and the United States in nuclear weapons. Enormous investments are needed for this, ”the political scientist said in an interview with RT.

Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that he wants to achieve a tripartite agreement on strategic arms control that would replace the existing strategic offensive arms reduction agreement (START III) between Russia and the United States. According to Trump, the United States, Russia and China should participate in the new treaty, which, according to various sources, has about 300 nuclear warheads.

“I believe that we will come together with Russia, China and develop a nuclear agreement so as not to continue this madness,” Trump said in October 2019, bearing in mind the high cost of modernizing and maintaining the nuclear arsenal.

  • American bomber B-2 Spirit
  • © US Air Force

START III was signed in 2010 by the then presidents of Russia and the United States, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, for a ten-year term.

Under its terms, the United States and Russia have pledged to reduce their nuclear arsenals. For deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles, ballistic missiles, submarines and heavy bombers, a total of 700 units was established (together with undeployed weapons, their number should not exceed 800 units). For the warheads deployed on different carriers, an upper bar of 1,550 units was introduced.

The contract expires at the beginning of 2021. Moscow has repeatedly proposed to the American side to extend the agreement for a five-year term. The UN stressed the importance of extending START III.

However, Washington for a long time shied away from a definite answer, and in mid-February, US Presidential Adviser on National Security Robert O'Brien said that the White House intends to negotiate the fate of START III with the Kremlin behind closed doors.

Pentagon chief Mark Esper also did not comment on the possibility of extending START III.

According to Koshkin, Washington is in no hurry to extend the treaty, as it wants to attract Beijing to conclude new agreements in the sphere of limiting strategic offensive arms, which will replace START III.

“They want to conclude new treaties like the Treaty on Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles and START III with the participation of Beijing, that is, they are more interested in the containment mechanism of China, not Russia. That is why they are less interested in rolling out START III in the format in which it was signed by Moscow and Washington. They are interested in the new INF Treaty and the new strategic offensive arms, in which they could throw some kind of bridle on China or at least conduct an audit of Chinese nuclear weapons in order to have a clearer idea of ​​who they are dealing with, ”the political scientist concluded.

At the same time, China has repeatedly stated that it does not plan to accede to any nuclear treaties.

In turn, Sudakov believes that the US wants to abandon START III, as this agreement prevents them from realizing their ambitions in the field of nuclear weapons.

“America always comes out of agreements that are not beneficial to them. Today, START III is partly holding back the development of US nuclear programs. So far, all the prerequisites are aimed solely at ensuring that the contract is destroyed, ”the expert concluded.