US spends $1 trillion to upgrade nuclear arsenal

Faced with the reality of an aging arsenal of missiles, bombers and strategic submarines, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter recently pledged to spend about $108 billion to upgrade the nuclear arsenal over the next five years.

The US tested nuclear weapons in Nevada in 1957.

The Pentagon chief's statement came during a visit to Minot Air Force Base to inspect an underground weapons depot that houses 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

“If we don’t replace these weapons systems, they will continue to degrade, becoming unsafe, ineffective and unreliable,” Mr. Carter stressed.

The $108 billion figure is just a starting point. In addition to upgrading the ICBMs, there is also a need to find a replacement for the 20-year-old B-2 bombers and the more than 50-year-old B-52 bombers. The US Navy’s nuclear submarine fleet is also about 35 years old and needs to be modernized.

The cost of this upgrade program through 2024 is expected to exceed $348 billion.

According to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, upgrading the entire US nuclear arsenal could cost more than $1 trillion.

Many critics say upgrading the US nuclear triad is not only costly for US taxpayers, but also poses a serious threat to global security.

“The reality is that the United States still has about 4,700 nuclear weapons in its arsenal,” said Tom Z. Collina, director of policy at the Ploughshares Fund. “It’s fair to say that we have more nuclear weapons than we need.”

According to Petrotimes