US launches a series of attacks after Russia conducts nuclear drills

As soon as Russia suddenly mobilized its nuclear triad to conduct a surprise exercise, the US made a series of similar moves.

American way of playing

RIA Novosti quoted a statement by Mr. Brian Maguire, representative of the US Strategic Command (Stratcom), saying that starting from October 30, the US strategic nuclear force launched the Global Thunder exercise to assess global response capabilities and defense capabilities.

Before the nuclear exercise began, the US notified Russia according to the bilateral agreement. According to this representative, Global Thunder is an annual exercise aimed at testing the capabilities of space forces, surveillance and intelligence systems, global strike systems, and forces in charge of cyber warfare.

“The exercise trains Stratcom and its subordinates to defend, and if necessary, counterattack, in the event of an attack on the United States,” Maguire added. Global Thunder, while considered an annual exercise, comes just after Russia concluded a similar, larger exercise.

American B-1B aircraft.

Not only that, Global Thunder was launched right after the US Strategic Air Force announced the change of use of B-1B Lancer bombers in the strategic nuclear trio - moves that demonstrate the US's way of playing against Russia.

Lenta.ru quoted the US Air Force as saying that all B-1B Lancer supersonic bombers in the US strategic nuclear triad will be transferred to the Global Rapid Strike Command.

The decision means that all B-1B Lancer aircraft will be transferred to the US unified air force - a force that specializes in carrying out tactical-operational attack missions wherever needed.

The US Air Force said that all 63 B-1B bombers and 7,000 support personnel will be transferred to the command of the US Global Strike Command within six months.

According to a representative of the US Air Force, changing the purpose of using the B-1B aircraft will allow for increased flexibility and coordination between the US's conventional attack weapons system and nuclear weapons under the unified command.

The US's change in the purpose of using the nuclear triad, announced by Stratcom, is not beyond the purpose of being ready to deal with a potential future nuclear attack by an opponent.

Power Up

Admiral Cecil Haney, Commander of the US Strategic Command (Stratcom), said that the US has just decided to upgrade its strategic nuclear triad including strategic bombers, nuclear submarines and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

"When you look at the triad of our ballistic missiles, the nature of our strategic nuclear submarines and the versatility of our strategic bombers, each of them provides some unique characteristics that can deter any military strategy in the 21st century," Admiral Cecil Haney told reporters.

Haney said the Pentagon has launched a number of nuclear modernization programs to focus on projects while funding is tight. But he added that upgrading the nuclear triad cannot be delayed because the US nuclear submarines are "too old."

Although he did not disclose the budget for the upcoming modernization of his nuclear triad, according to information revealed by Reuters, the budget for this program is not less than 1,000 billion USD. This figure was cited by Reuters from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) based in California.

The US is currently spending 3% of its total defense budget to replace nuclear weapons and warheads after 2020. This 3% rate is equivalent to the amount the country spent on strategic weapons systems during the arms race with the Soviet Union in the 1980s, under President Ronald Reagan.

The CNS figures are roughly in line with those released by the US Congressional Budget Office in early 2015, which predicted that Washington would spend $355 billion over the next decade on its nuclear arsenal.

According to the latest figures from the Federation of Nuclear Scientists (FAS), the United States currently possesses 4,650 nuclear warheads, of which 2,130 are operational. In addition, Washington still stores 2,700 expired nuclear warheads that have not been dismantled.

According to FAS estimates, there are currently "approximately 1,620 strategic warheads deployed on ballistic missiles, including 1,150 on submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMS) and 470 on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs); nearly 300 other nuclear warheads are located at bomber bases in the United States; and nearly 200 non-strategic warheads are deployed in Europe."

The CNS report estimates that in recent years the nuclear triad has cost the United States about $8 billion a year. The US government has decided to modernize all three forces in this nuclear triad in the coming decades.

In particular, the Pentagon plans to provide federal funding to the National Nuclear Security Administration to maintain and build more modern nuclear weapons, including: 100-140 billion USD for strategic bombers, 20-120 billion USD for ICBMs and 350 billion USD for SLBMs.

According to Baodatviet