NTI President Joan Rohlfing Discusses Nuclear Modernization and the Risk of a New Arms Race
NTI President Joan Rohlfing discussed U.S. policy towards nuclear modernization and the costs and benefits of developing new nuclear weapons
A new article and interactive by Jeffrey Lewis,
Director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center
for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), examines the difficult choices that must be made about the most comprehensive modernization of the
U.S. nuclear triad since the 1980s. The cost of each of the modernization
programs, for the triad’s submarines, bombers and intercontinental ballistic
missiles (ICBMs), will run approximately $100 billion per leg and will need to
be completed on a tight timeline—before old systems begin to age in the late
2020s. Officials in the Obama administration expressed concerns
about costs of the modernization programs. Now the Trump administration, which
is beginning its own Nuclear Posture Review and proposing its own budgets, faces
difficult decisions on how to move forward.
Lewis’ analysis outlines options and considerations. The
interactive highlights the three legs and components of the triad and gives
readers the chance to watch videos, read about cost details and interact with
3D models of the systems.
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NTI President Joan Rohlfing discussed U.S. policy towards nuclear modernization and the costs and benefits of developing new nuclear weapons
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