May 29, 2014

DOD REVEALS NUCLEAR FORCE STRUCTURE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

By ExchangeMonitor

The Department of Defense yesterday announced its nuclear force structure implementation plan under the New START Treaty yesterday, outlining a plan that would include reductions across the three legs of the nuclear triad. Under the plan, the Pentagon will trim the size of its deployed intercontinental ballistic missile force by 50 ICBMs but preserve each of its missile wings, while four missile tubs will be eliminated from the 14 Ohio class nuclear submarines, leading to a reduction of 56 delivery vehicles. Thirty B-52 bombers will also be stripped of their nuclear role, leaving 66 nuclear-capable B52s and B2s. Of those, 60 will be deployed. Under the terms of the treaty, the United States must reduce its nuclear forces to 800 delivery vehicles (700 of which can be deployed) by 2018 and 1,550 nuclear warheads.

The Pentagon said the reductions will cost $301.1 million from Fiscal Year 2014 to FY 2018. “This force structure achieves the right balance and flexibility, survivability and responsiveness of our nuclear forces and supports our national security objectives by providing a mix of force capabilities and attributes to ensure the President has an array of options available under a broad range of scenarios and preserves a just in case upload capability for all legs of the triad,” Elaine Bunn, the Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy, said at a House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing shortly after the implementation plan was released.

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