New START’s Death May Up Costs of Triad Modernization
In any post-New START nuclear buildup, Russia will "at least initially" have an edge over the US, says retired Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, former head of Air Force Global Strike Command.
Whither Nuclear Command, Control & Communications?
Most of the system that allows the president to launch nuclear weapons and to know what the enemy is doing with theirs is ancient. No one yet agrees what it must replaced with. And no one knows how much it will cost, although late last month the Congressional Budget Office issued an estimate of $77 billion.
The state of play in military space
The military space sector is evolving fast. Get the latest from Space Force and industry officials on what’s next for acquisition, policy and training in a new Breaking Defense eBook.
HASC Kicks Around Trump’s Nuclear Plan, Approves It Along Party Lines
The Pentagon's Nuclear Posture Review remains the topic of debate on Capitol Hill, with Democrats and Republicans sparring over nuclear deterrence.
10 Reasons The US Should Build New Nuclear Missiles, GBSD
CORRECTED: Minuteman Was First Solid-Fueled ICBM; Jon Wolfsthal’s name The first solid-fueled InterContinental Ballistic Missile, Minuteman 1, was deployed some 55 years ago on the same day that President Kennedy announced that Soviet missiles were being deployed in Cuba. At the end of the Cuban missile crisis, President Kennedy credited the newly deployed Minuteman ICBM as his “ace […]
Scotland Should Get Into NATO, OK!
When I studied politics in London, one of my lecturers was a fellow named Neil Kinnock, a Welshman who went on to lead the Labour Party. Kinnock, though he loved Wales and clearly understood the pride his countrymen took in their little patch, never joined the then-dominant Welsh nationalist group, Plaid Cymru. Kinnock knew being part […]
Navy Seeks Sub Replacement Savings: From NASA Rocket Boosters To Reused Access Doors
NATIONAL HARBOR: This is rocket science. As the US Navy tries to keep its crucial 1990-vintage Trident D5 nuclear-capable missile viable for decades to come, it’s working with everyone from the Royal Navy to the US Air Force to NASA to keep costs down and technology up to date. Meanwhile, the design team for the […]
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Turning R&D into reality to meet the challenges of the modern battlefield
Knowing when to build on commercial systems and when to develop something new can be the difference between parity and information dominance.
Pentagon’s Global Strike Weapon Stuck In Limbo; Congress Fears Accidental Nuclear War
As part of its ongoing strategic “pivot” towards the Pacific, early this year the Defense Department announced it would design a new missile able to quickly cross long distances and penetrate sophisticated air defenses, of the kind rapidly proliferating across Asia. The so-called “conventional prompt strike option” would be submarine-launched, the Pentagon said in its […]
Navy Fears Pentagon Neglects New Missile Sub; SSBN(X) Must Survive Almost 80 Years
WASHINGTON: Right now, the Navy is designing the ballistic missile submarine that will provide 70 percent of the nation’s nuclear deterrent until 2080. Yet even as the service prepares to award research and development contracts this December, the submarine community is deeply worried that the rest of the military is neglecting the program — which […]