August 13, 2014

StratCom Chief ‘Very Concerned’ About Future of ‘3+2’ Warhead Modernization Strategy

By ExchangeMonitor

With Congress raising questions about the Obama Administration’s ‘3+2’ strategy for modernizing the nation’s nuclear arsenal, Strategic Command chief Adm. Cecil Haney said he was “very concerned” about the future of the strategy but emphasized its importance. Haney spoke to reporters after a speech at Strategic Command’s Deterrence Symposium yesterday, addressing the ‘3+2’ strategy. Several legs of the strategy have come under fire from different various Congressional committees, most recently the refurbishment of an air-launched cruise missile warhead, for which funding was zeroed out in the Senate Appropriations Committee’s version of the Fiscal Year 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations Act. The concerns came after the Administration deferred work on an initial interoperable warhead for five years in the face of Congressional skepticism.

The cruise missile warhead is essential to give the Air Force “standoff capability to deal with uncertainty and adversary capabilities in the future,” Haney said. “So I’m very concerned and continue to work with the Congress to explain the position and the value of this ‘3+2’ strategy to have the necessary capabilities in all legs of the triad.” Haney’s comments were part of a broader message in support of modernizing the nation’s nuclear arsenal and weapons complex despite continuing budgetary pressure on nuclear weapons spending. “While the overall investment may appear significant and difficult in a fiscal environment with a national debt of more than $17.6 trillion dollars, we should not overlook the value of a credible strategic deterrent to our nation now and into the future,” Haney said. “If we delay recapitalizing our strategic forces and the industrial base it supports we risk degrading this credible 21st century deterrent and its stabilizing effect. Is that a risk that we can afford to take?”

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