United States Strategic Command

WASHINGTON — U.S. Strategic Command may accelerate and increase its buys of Raytheon-made AGM-181 Long Range Standoff Weapon cruise missiles beyond the 1,087 now planned, commander Gen. Anthony Cotton said here Friday. Asked if the command was examining those options, given Russian President Vladimir Putin’s posturing about using low-yield nuclear weapons after his invasion of […]

WASHINGTON — The Los Alamos National Laboratory’s plan to produce 30 nuclear weapon cores annually by 2028 satisfies current military needs, the head of U.S. Strategic Command said here Friday. That date, given earlier in the summit by the head of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, “meets my needs in that regard for W87-1” Gen. […]

The annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit, hosted by the Exchange Monitor, kicks off in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday with more than 60 speakers from the top ranks of the U.S.  nuclear security enterprise.  Expect much discussion of the National Nuclear Security Administration striving to produce at least 80 plutonium pits for use in modernizing nuclear weapons […]

The annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit, hosted by the Exchange Monitor, kicks off in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday with more than 60 speakers from the top ranks of the U.S.  nuclear security enterprise.  Expect much discussion of the National Nuclear Security Administration striving to produce at least 80 plutonium pits for use in modernizing nuclear weapons […]

When it comes to nuclear deterrence, and the warheads and delivery systems that support it, the more options the better, said U.S. Strategic Command head Air Force Gen Anthony Cotton. Though he was careful not to name specific delivery systems or weapons, Cotton said that when advising the president on how to keep nuclear competitors […]

U.S. Strategic Command kicked off its annual nuclear command and control training and readiness exercise, Global Thunder, on Tuesday. As in previous years, Global Thunder 23 (GT23) includes an increase in bomber aircraft flights throughout the exercise, centered at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska but involving all three legs of the U.S. nuclear triad. […]

U.S. Strategic Command will kick off its annual nuclear command and control training and readiness exercise, Global Thunder, on Tuesday. As in previous years, Global Thunder 23 (GT23) will include an increase in bomber aircraft flights throughout the exercise, centered at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska but involving all three legs of the U.S. […]

The U.S. military lags behind both Russia and China in building and fielding low-yield nuclear weapons and can address that gap by diversifying the military’s nuclear options, the head of U.S. Strategic Command told Congress on Thursday. Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton, in charge of U.S. nuclear forces since December, said he launched a review […]

Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton on Friday assumed command of the interagency forces that carry U.S. nuclear weapons. Cotton, previously commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, took over from Admiral Charles Richard, who has led U.S. Strategic Command since November 2019. Richard will retire from active duty, Strategic Command said. The change of command […]

Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton was set on Friday to assume command of the interagency forces that carry U.S. nuclear weapons. Cotton, now commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, will take over from Admiral Charles Richard, who has led U.S. Strategic Command since November 2019. Richard will retire from active duty, Strategic Command said. […]

Ongoing problems moving goods from one place to another has affected schedules across the Department of Defense and nuclear-weapon programs have been hit especially hard, the nominee to lead U.S. nuclear forces told Senators Thursday. Even in the face of what he called “herculean efforts” by defense contractors, “what we are now finding is the […]

There is not enough money in the world for the National Nuclear Security Administration to spend its way to making 80 plutonium pits a year by 2030, the general who commands U.S. nuclear forces told Congress Tuesday morning. “[W]e now know that we will not get 80 pits per year by 2030 as is statutorily […]

There is not enough money in the world for the National Nuclear Security Administration to spend its way to making 80 plutonium pits a year by 2030, the general who commands U.S. nuclear forces told Congress Tuesday morning. “[W]e now know that we will not get 80 pits per year by 2030 as is statutorily […]

Despite the Russian president’s declaration of a nuclear alert following that country’s invasion of its neighbor, Ukraine, U.S. nuclear posture had not changed as of Tuesday, the head of the U.S. Strategic Command told lawmakers in an open hearing. “My command, as always, is ready to execute our strategic deterrence mission,” Adm. Charles Richard, commander […]

Despite the Russian president’s declaration of a nuclear alert following that country’s invasion of its neighbor, Ukraine, U.S. nuclear posture had not changed as of Tuesday, the head of the U.S. Strategic Command told lawmakers in an open hearing. “My command, as always, is ready to execute our strategic deterrence mission,” Adm. Charles Richard, commander […]

The current trillion-dollar nuclear modernization regime is based on obsolete thinking that fails to consider the emerging nuclear danger posed by China, the head of U.S. Strategic Command said this week at the virtual STATCOM Nuclear Deterrence Symposium. The U.S. is modernizing against “old requirements” developed with the assumption that China is a “lesser included case” in the nuclear […]

The current trillion-dollar nuclear modernization regime is based on obsolete thinking that fails to consider the emerging nuclear danger posed by China, the head of U.S. Strategic Command said Monday at the virtual STATCOM Nuclear Deterrence Symposium. The U.S. is modernizing against “old requirements” developed with the assumption that China is a “lesser included case” […]

The commander of U.S. nuclear forces, who met with President-elect Joe Biden’s (D) transition team recently, worried this week that the civilian nuclear weapons complex faces problems bigger than a potential slip in plutonium-pit production. Under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act passed into law this month over President Donald Trump’s veto, U.S. Strategic Command […]

The commander of U.S. nuclear forces, who met with President-elect Joe Biden’s (D) transition team recently, worried Monday that the civilian nuclear weapons complex faces problems bigger than a potential slip in plutonium-pit production. Under the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act passed into law this month over President Donald Trump’s veto, U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) […]

This week, top U.S. officials in Washington warned against cutting the U.S. nuclear arsenal or agreeing to extend a nuclear arms control treaty with Russia without assurances that Moscow’s promised warhead freeze would actually happen. “[E]ach piece of our triad is essential, but they’re also complimentary,” Adm. Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said […]

On Wednesday, top U.S. officials in Washington warned against cutting the U.S. nuclear arsenal or agreeing to extend a nuclear arms control treaty with Russia without assurances that Moscow’s promised warhead freeze would actually happen. “[E]ach piece of our triad is essential, but they’re also complimentary,” Adm. Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said […]

The Air Force’s program to acquire a new fleet of nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles, which fast became a one-horse race that Northrop Grumman won, is a model for the sort of procurement ethos that will help the U.S. acquire new weapons as fast as China, the commander of U.S. nuclear forces said Monday. “China can […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee is calling in the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, and the undersecretary of defense in charge of nuclear weapons procurement for a very-late-in-the-season hearing on the civilian weapons agency’s budget. The hearing, “Matters Relating to the Budget of the National Nuclear Security […]

The Air Force’s program to acquire a new fleet of nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles, which fast became a one-horse race that Northrop Grumman won, is a model for the sort of procurement ethos that will help the U.S. acquire new weapons as fast as China, the commander of U.S. nuclear forces said Monday. “China can […]

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California received a VIP visit from the head of U.S. Strategic Command this week, as it continues to work on the warhead-refresh for the airborne leg of the nation's nuclear triad. Navy Adm. Charles Richard visited the Livermore, Calif., weapons laboratory on Monday, as wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic continued […]

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California received a VIP visit from the head of U.S. Strategic Command this week, as it continues to work on the warhead-refresh for the airborne leg of the triad. Navy Adm. Charles Richard visited the Livermore, Calif., weapons laboratory on Monday, as wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic continued raging through […]

The Donald Trump administration intends to nominate Lucas Polakowski, a former officer at U.S. Strategic Command, to be the top civilian in the Pentagon’s program to counter weapons of mass destruction. The White House announced its intent to nominate Polakowski on Wednesday for the post of assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical, and biological […]

The Donald Trump administration intends to nominate Lucas Polakowski, a former officer at U.S. Strategic Command, to be the top civilian in the Pentagon’s program to counter weapons of mass destruction. The White House announced its intent to nominate Polakowski on Wednesday for the post of assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical, and biological […]

There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among U.S. nuclear forces, and fewer than 50 people supporting that interservice group are self-quarantining because of possible exposure during the global pandemic, the head of U.S. Strategic Command said Tuesday. “[W]e have zero people in STRATCOM headquarters or in the components that have tested positive, so I […]

WASHINGTON — The commander of U.S. nuclear forces would not be drawn into a discussion on details of the planned W93 sea-based warhead in an open hearing Thursday, stoically deflecting questions from a curious lawmaker and declaring the planned weapon makes him “proud to be an American.” “I think that is one of those things […]