The United States carried out a costly modernization of the defense complex, including its nuclear forces. This was stated by Donald Trump during a briefing for journalists.
“We upgraded our nuclear potential: it needed recharge and new forces, and we significantly improved it, I would say, to a fantastic level. We hope (and you pray to God for this) that we will never have to resort to them. Now we are stronger than ever, ”said the US President.
He also stressed that Washington intends to focus on more global issues instead of regional wars.
“We are building a military like the world has never seen. We spent $ 2.5 trillion on this. I hope that we will not have to use these powers, but we want to concentrate on the more global affairs that are before us. Suffice it to turn to what China and Russia are doing, as well as some other countries. We just want to be prepared in the event of a catastrophic event, ”Trump said.
Total renewal
Recall that the United States is currently implementing a large-scale program to modernize the three components of the strategic nuclear forces.
Within its framework, the Pentagon plans to replace the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, which have been in service since 1970, with new samples. Minuteman III is the only silo-based ICBM in the United States. The missile designed to replace them is still at the design stage, and the date of the start of its deliveries to the troops is unknown.
It is planned to strengthen the aviation component of the nuclear triad by creating a new generation heavy strategic bomber.
The promising aircraft was named B-21 Raider. The US Department of Defense signed a contract for its development with Northrop Grumman Corporation, which is known, in particular, for the creation of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. The deal is valued at $ 21.4 billion.
- The concept of a promising bomber B-21 Raider
- © US Air Force Graphic
It is assumed that in the future, the B-21 Raider can replace the strategic bombers B-52 Stratofortress and Rockwell B-1 Lancer currently in service with the US Armed Forces.
In addition, the United States intends to decommission Ohio-class nuclear submarines in the early 2030s, armed with Columbia-class submarines instead.
As a reminder, Ohio was put into service in 1981. Today the United States has 14 such vessels. According to various sources, in total, Washington plans to build 10-12 new generation submarines, which, presumably, will carry 16 ballistic missiles each.
Construction of the first Columbia-class submarine will begin in 2021, and its introduction into service is scheduled for 2031. In parallel with its creation, the United States is also working on the modernization of Trident ballistic missiles, which are launched from Ohio submarines and are expected to be installed on new generation submarines.
The United States has also committed $ 900 million to develop a Long Range Stand Off Weapon (LRSO) that can carry a nuclear warhead. In total, the Pentagon intends to purchase a thousand of these missiles. The total cost of the program is estimated at $ 10 billion.
LRSOs, which may enter service in the late 2020s, will be deployed on the B-52, B-2 and B-1 strategic bombers, as well as the B-21 Raider.
- B-52 bomber
- © REUTERS / Bobbi Zapka / USAF
In addition, Washington is working to maintain nuclear warheads and bombs, modernize early warning systems, communications and enterprises involved in the production of nuclear weapons.
It is worth noting that all these developments were initiated under Barack Obama. His successor, Trump, has given new impetus to the American program to upgrade nuclear weapons, calling strengthening the US nuclear shield one of his key tasks.
In 2018, the Pentagon published the Nuclear Posture Review, a doctrine that guides the long-term US strategy for nuclear weapons. The document envisages more than doubling the cost of the nuclear arsenal in the next ten-plus years.
In particular, according to the doctrine, the Pentagon intends to develop a low-yield nuclear warhead for ballistic missiles on Trident submarines. The Russian Foreign Ministry called these plans dangerous. According to the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova, by such actions, Washington actually blurs the line "between non-strategic and strategic nuclear weapons", which "inevitably leads to a lowering of the nuclear threshold and an increase in the threat of a nuclear conflict."
The diplomat stressed that any attack using an American ballistic missile, regardless of its equipment, would be perceived as an attack using a nuclear weapon.
In addition, the Nuclear Policy Review recommends the development of sea-launched nuclear cruise missiles.
The principle of "reasonable sufficiency"
According to experts, it is at least premature to say that the modernization of the US nuclear forces is nearing the final stage. So, a member of the Academy of Military Sciences Sergei Sudakov, in an interview with RT, noted that Trump's statement is more like "election rhetoric."
“There is no reason to believe that the United States has completed the modernization of its nuclear forces, including the nuclear triad, they are far from that. In many ways, Trump is disingenuous, saying that everything is great in the United States, but this is due to the election campaign that is now unfolding in the United States. Thus, he is just trying to score points, "- said Sudakov.
Andrey Koshkin, a member of the Association of Military Political Scientists, adheres to a similar point of view.
“Trump expects to get votes in the upcoming elections, so now he is announcing the modernization of nuclear weapons. This election campaign is quite difficult for him, therefore, in order to fight for his nuclear electorate and those who have not yet decided on their choice, he creates such news reasons, "the analyst said in an interview with RT.
- Ohio USS Florida class submarine (SSGN 728)
- © US Navy
At the same time, Trump partly takes over the merits of Barack Obama, because it was under him that many projects for the modernization of nuclear forces were launched, says Sudakov.
“Obama has done enough to kick-start the nuclear modernization process. Trump just "straddled this wave." The only thing that he brought new is that he came out of international treaties such as the INF Treaty, which allowed the United States to openly develop intermediate and shorter-range missiles that can also carry a nuclear charge, ”the political scientist says.
According to analysts, the US modernization program is unable to change the strategic balance of power in the world, because Russia is consistently developing its own nuclear shield.
So, in June 2020, the Russian Navy received the fourth newest submarine missile carrier of project 955 "Prince Vladimir", and in July of the same year, the fifth ship of this class, "Prince Oleg", was launched. These submarines are equipped with 16 Bulava ICBMs.
In addition, at the end of last year, a strategic missile system with a hypersonic gliding cruise warhead Avangard took up combat duty, and in 2021 it is planned to begin serial production of RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are capable of penetrating any missile defense system. and have no analogues in the world.
All this, experts say, allows us to assert that Russia's security is reliably ensured.
“Russia is looking for ways and forms that would provide reliable protection against emerging new threats, including military ones. Moscow is taking asymmetric retaliatory actions, not mirror-like ones that require large amounts of money. So far, she has been very successful in this. The Russian Federation today possesses high-tech weapons, which no one else has. We are talking not only about nuclear weapons, but also about air defense systems, hypersonic missiles, ”said Koshkin.
At the same time, analysts believe that Washington is unlikely to be able to drag Moscow into a new arms race. According to them, all measures taken by the Russian Federation to modernize its nuclear triad are based on the principle of "reasonable sufficiency".
“Russia showed a new vector for the development of military forces in 2018, when it demonstrated innovative types of weapons, such as the Avangard. At the same time, the Russian military budget has not undergone major changes since 2018. The United States believes that different countries can be drawn into an arms race according to the same scenario, but this will not work with Russia, since it has learned too well the experience of the collapse of the USSR, ”concluded Sudakov.