The US may decide to increase the number of deployed nuclear warheads.
According to Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy Vipin Narang, “absent a change in the nuclear trajectory” of China, North Korea, and Russia, “we may reach a point where we need to change the size or posture of our current deployed forces.”
Russia's TASS news agency reported on August 2 that Acting US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy Vipin Narang said that Washington could increase the number of deployed nuclear warheads, but this issue is up to the president to decide.
According to US officials, "absent a change in the nuclear trajectory" of China, North Korea and Russia, "we may reach a point where we need to change the size or posture of our current deployed forces."
“There is no need to increase the stockpile at the moment, but it may be necessary to adjust the number of deployed capabilities if our opponents continue on the current path,” he said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (an unrecognized think tank in Russia).
Narang added that “only the President can make that decision” and the move means “he or she has concluded that such changes are necessary to deter adversaries, defend the United States, and meet our commitments to our allies and partners.”
He also said, referring to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, that Washington did not need to match its competitors' warhead numbers or outnumber their "total combined forces" to deter them.
“In fact, the opposite is true: we are committed to deploying only what is necessary to credibly deter adversaries and protect the American people and our allies and partners,” Narang said.
