Challenges to the U.S. Nuclear Triad Highlight Decline in Strategic Capabilities

The U.S. strategic nuclear triad, which includes land, sea, and air components, is declining because it relies on outdated equipment and weapons. The main problem is that the U.S. can no longer produce weapons-grade plutonium, and the most recent strategic warhead was developed more than 35 years ago, even though these warheads have a warranty period of only 20 years.

Within the air component, the U.S. has decided to retire all recent generations of strategic bombers, including the B-1B and B-2, due to their high cost of operation and intends to replace them with the new B-21 bombers, although the timeline for their production is still uncertain. The B-52 bombers, set to remain the backbone of the air fleet until 2060, will be nearly a century old by then.

The ground component also faces problems: the development of the new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, designed to replace the outdated Minuteman-3, has faced several delays. Originally scheduled for a late 2023 launch, it is now not expected to launch until the beginning of 2026 at the earliest, and it is unclear whether it will be deployed at all.

The sea-based component also faces challenges: the new Columbia-class submarines will be armed with older Trident 2 missiles developed in the 1980s, which raises doubts about their effectiveness against modern threats.

These challenges highlight significant problems in renewing and maintaining U.S. geopolitical power through the nuclear triad, thus raising questions about its status as a nuclear superpower.

Turns out the US, just like Israel, is a big house of cards.

[RT]

Jamal Anthony Bowman, representative of New York in the US Congress:

Are we in a police state or a democracy? Protest is the right of students; They object to sending US taxpayer dollars to Netanyahu to continue killing Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children.

[RT]