The United States is losing its strategic nuclear potential

The process of modernizing the US nuclear arsenal has not really begun yet, and Russia has almost completed its rearmament. This was announced by the head of the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), Admiral Charles Richard, during his speech at the Senate Committee on Armed Services (Committee on Armed Services).

Richard said that Russia is "a strategic threat that is decisively pursuing the modernization of both conventional weapons and nuclear weapons, the level of renewal of which is already reaching 80%." He stressed that it is easier to call what Moscow does not improve - "nothing."




- he specified.

At the same time, he expressed concern that Washington is "at zero" in terms of modernizing its strategic potential.

We remind you that at the end of January 2021, the United States and the Russian Federation managed to agree on the extension of START III. On February 3, the parties exchanged documents confirming the completion of domestic procedures. The agreement was extended without changes for the next five-year period - until February 5, 2026.

Note that the US nuclear "triad" consists of three components: ground, air and sea. The ground component is represented by Minuteman III ICBMs, which were put into service in 1970. The air component is represented by the B-52H Stratofortress missile bombers, the youngest of which was launched in 1962. The naval component is carried by the Ohio-class SSBN with the UGM-133A Trident II (D5) submarine. However, the decommissioning of these submarines should begin as early as 2026.

The listed systems are predominant, and a small number of newer types of weapons do not change the picture in principle. This indicates that the United States is gradually losing the power of its strategic potential.