Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
2/13/2015
As different nations are modernizing or striving to develop their strategic capabilities, the United States must invest in upgrading its nuclear deterrent, Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said during a speech at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington Feb. 6. Haney pointed to Russia, which has engaged in operational exercises during the Crimean and Ukrainian conflicts, including flying “long-range aircraft” into allied air defense identification zones, interfering with air traffic. “This is an area that we have pushed to the right—the modernization of this capability,” Haney said. “We can ill-afford to continue to do that.”
Pentagon Says FY 16 Request Prioritizes Nuclear Enterprise
Haney’s remarks came days after the Defense Department released a Fiscal Year 2016 budget request that officials have said prioritizes the nuclear enterprise. Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work said during a press briefing last week that the Pentagon has been challenged to fund areas including rising nuclear enterprise costs, partly as a result of the weaker buying power the department has experienced since sequestration hit in FY 2013. Work also said DoD has been “digging out” of a readiness problem since then. “Our nuclear deterrent force is aging,” Work said. “It will be modernized in the 2020s and 2030s. We need to keep the old equipment and systems going, but it is becoming more expensive for us to do so and requiring us to divert resources in that regard.” Excluding Overseas Contingency Operations, the Department requested a total of $534 billion for FY 2016, a number about $32 billion more than recent DoD budgets, and about $35 billion over the Budget Control Act discretionary defense spending cap for FY 2016. Work pointed directly to the nuclear enterprise as one demand that necessitates the increased funding.
In his remarks, Haney echoed Work’s urgency, noting that a healthy nuclear force IS needed to deter attacks against the United States and its allies. “I don’t have an option associated with that,” Haney said. “And I would just say it’s not an area that we can just wish away. We have to invest in those kinds of capabilities.” Haney also underscored that the Defense Department has “worked especially hard” over the last year to correct deficiencies in the nuclear enterprise, after Haney took over as commander in November 2013, a time when STRATCOM faced a lot of scrutiny.
Administration Issues New National Security Strategy
Haney delivered his message the same day that the Obama Administration released its National Security Strategy for 2015, which stated U.S. intentions to prevent the proliferation and spread of nuclear weapons while citing the responsibility to protect and invest in a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent that “provides strategic stability.” “We will protect our investment in foundational capabilities like the nuclear deterrent, and we will grow our investment in crucial capabilities like cyber; space; and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance,” the strategy states.
