He Department of Defense (DoD) announced on Wednesday that it will adjust its strategy to deter the use of nuclear weapons in the face of the new escalation of hostilities that the country, its allies and partners are facing.
The strategy adjustment is due to the fact that multiple nuclear adversaries are currently challenging the security previously achieved regarding the use of nuclear weapons.
One of those threats is from Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a revised nuclear doctrine that effectively lowers his country’s threshold for using nuclear weapons.
Putin’s new doctrine suggests that Russia could use nuclear weapons to respond to attacks on Ukraine carried out with US support.
It is also stated that Russia will consider a joint attack on any attack by any non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear country.
Russia’s announcement came just days after the United States for the first time authorized Ukraine to use long-range missiles provided by the United States to attack targets inside Russia.
Russia launched an intermediate missile against Ukraine with nuclear capability
The Russians launched on Thursday a new type of missile against Ukrainewhat the Defense Department calls an “intermediate-range ballistic missile,” or IRBM, Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, said Thursday.
“I can confirm that Russia launched an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile,” Sabrina Singh said. “This intermediate-range ballistic missile was based on the Russian RS-26 Rubezh ICBM model. Regarding notifications to the United States, this country received brief advance notification before the launch through nuclear risk reduction channels.
The intermediate-range missile was launched from the city of Dnipro. Although Singh said the missile carried a conventional warhead, He also said it is possible that the missile could be equipped with other warheads as well.
“It could be retrofitted to carry different types of warheads…conventional or nuclear,” Singh said.
The Department of Defense must adjust its nuclear deterrence strategy
“We are in a world where we face multiple nuclear competitors, multiple states that are increasing, diversifying and modernizing their nuclear arsenals and, unfortunately, also prioritizing the role that nuclear weapons play in their national security strategies,” said Richard C. Johnsondeputy assistant secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction Policy (N-CWMD), who spoke on a panel at a Center for Strategic and International Studies Project on Nuclear Affairs event Wednesday in Washington, D.C., as reported the Department of Defense.
As the security environment evolves, adjustments to the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review to maintain the ability to achieve nuclear deterrence, in light of the enhanced nuclear capabilities of China and Russia and the possible lack of nuclear arms control agreements after February 2025, Johnson said in his speech.
The United States must adjust its nuclear strategy in the face of new threats
The US nuclear modernization program may be insufficient in the future, Johnson noted.
The Department of Defense, in collaboration with the National Nuclear Security Administration, has already taken steps to deploy capabilities that enhance nuclear deterrence and flexibility and reduce the risk to the department’s nuclear modernization program, the expert said.
These include the production of the B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb, launched by aircraft, which is a modern variant of the B61 bomb, as well as improved preparation of the Ohio-class submarines armed and powered by nuclear power.
On November 15, the DoD presented the Report 791 to Congress, which describes the US nuclear weapons strategy It is called 491 because it was filed pursuant to USC Title 10 Section 491.
Report 491 describes the changes that have been made from previous guidelines and reports on the new deterrence challenges nuclear that propose growth, modernization and the increasing diversity of the nuclear arsenals of the United States’ potential adversariesJohnson said.
The report indicates that The United States must:
- Plan to simultaneously deter multiple adversaries with nuclear weapons.
- Require the integration of non-nuclear capabilities, where feasible, to support the nuclear deterrence mission.
- Emphasize the importance of escalation management in US planning to respond to a limited nuclear attack or a high-consequence non-nuclear strategic attack.
- Enable deeper consultation, coordination, and combined planning with allies and partners to strengthen U.S. extended deterrence commitments.
The report also acknowledges that Deterrence alone will not solve strategic dangers and recognizes that arms control and risk reduction and nuclear nonproliferation also play indispensable roles, Johnson said.
Grant Schneider, joint chief of staff deputy assistant director for strategic stability, who also spoke at the event, said another part of the report is the important intellectual and analytical work needed to identify the variety of strategic scenarios and circumstances that the United States could face together with its allies heading into the 2030s.
Given the complexity of the risks that the United States may face until 2030, the Department of Defense is reviewing its nuclear deterrence strategy and adapting it to new challengesthe experts said.
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