Separate Air Force Nuclear Modernization Fund Gaining Traction?

Like the Navy, the Air Force has a large nuclear modernization bill looming, and the idea of a separate deterrence fund for upgrading the air legs of the nuclear triad is gaining traction, according to Global Strike Command chief Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson. The Navy has proposed a sea-based deterrence fund to pay for the Ohio Class nuclear submarine replacement project and Congress signed off on the concept in the Fiscal Year 2015 omnibus appropriations act. The approach could be applicable to funding the new intercontinental ballistic missile and long-range bomber, Wilson said. “We’re looking to see how we could do something like that,” Wilson said at a Defense Writers Group yesterday. “We think we need a sustained commitment, both resources and attention to focus, across a period of years going forward. We’re keenly watching how the Navy is doing this.”

 

Wilson said the issue is being discussed at senior levels of the Pentagon, led by Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work. He said the issue has been a topic at monthly meetings of the Nuclear Deterrent Enterprise Review Group. “He [Work] is working closely with the Secretary [of the Air Force] and the chief [of staff] as to the investments for the nuclear enterprise going forward,” Wilson said.