Current Nuclear Weapons Development

STRATCOM preparing for China to join Russia as U.S. nuclear peer adversary
China's military modernization -- particularly development of its strategic forces -- is driving the U.S. military to begin preparing for the advent of Beijing as a nuclear competitor on par with Russia, a development that will require a different deterrence strategy from the playbook the Defense Department has long maintained to counter Moscow, according to a senior U.S. military official
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Been saying this since New START was signed. Our disarmament opened the door to China being able to, on the “relatively” cheap, match our nuclear capabilities.
 
m.washingtontimes.com

With Russia and China violating the CTBT, U.S. must resume nuclear testing

Nuclear weapon scientists and strategists are increasingly concerned about the safety and reliability of U.S. nuclear weapons, none tested in nearly three decades, obeying the unratified Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
m.washingtontimes.com m.washingtontimes.com

www.aei.org

The United States Must Avoid a Nuclear Arms Race with China

In his lead essay, Eric Gomez cites profound technological changes as the main reason why the United States should rethink its nuclear policy. However, there is one drastic change he does not adequately take into account: the rise of China. This response essay, therefore, focuses on the China...
www.aei.org www.aei.org
 
So how much yield of this Russia and Chinese "low yield nuclear test" ? and Does those test actually represent the real warhead ?.
and i guess if it's low yield then their accuracy has been much improved.
 
My often sited fact that at a time of, I believe, six separate new nuclear warhead programs we managed to build 3000 W76s in five years

GAO calls out NNSA's subpar planning for W87-1 design, plutonium needs
September 22, 2020 | Daily News
The Government Accountability Office has raised concerns that the National Nuclear Security Administration's W87-1 program -- potentially the most expensive warhead modernization effort since the end of the Cold War -- is neglecting best management practices when considering future design options and plutonium pit availability, according to previously undisclosed details from a classified report the watchdog completed in February
 
www.defenseone.com

US: Russia Has Agreed to Extend New START to Tactical Nukes. Russia: No, We Haven’t

Disagreement leaves fate of last remaining strategic arms pact in doubt.
www.defenseone.com www.defenseone.com


Instead, U.S. officials have tried to persuade their Russian counterparts to expand the treaty’s purview, to subject tactical nuclear weapons to its limits. Estimates of Russia’s stockpile of these lower-yield weapons run from 1,500 to 2,500. Russian officials have even threatened to use them if the United States or NATO allies sent forces to join Ukrainian troops.

“What we’ve indicated to the Russians is that we are in fact willing to extend the New START Treaty for some period of time provided that they agree to a limitation, a freeze, in their nuclear arsenal. We’re willing to do the same. I don’t see how it’s in anyone’s interests to allow Russia to build up its inventory of these tactical nuclear weapons systems with which they like to threaten NATO,” Billingslea said. “We cannot agree to a construct that leaves unaddressed 55 percent or more of the Rusian arsenal.”

But adding tactical nuclear weapons to the items covered by New START means changing the agreement in a fundamental way and it wasn’t clear that Russia had actually agreed to a new freeze on a weapon type that makes up an increasingly-large part of its arsenal.
 
Tac nukes are the corner stone of Russian political and military thought right now. You'll pry them out of Russia's cold, dead hand. The only way to get them to agree to tactical limitations is if you out produce them in tactical nukes. Take ever B-61 in storage and upgrade it to mod 12; along with the B-21 that effectively makes those weapons strategic due to accuracy and delayed fusing. But they will still score as tactical and B-21s still score a single warhead under New START - simply work around the treaty the way the Russians are.
 
www.realcleardefense.com

The Chinese Nuclear Threat

In September 2020, the Pentagon issued its annual report on the People’s Republic of China’s military capabilities. A common reaction to the report is that it presents a quite sobering pic
www.realcleardefense.com www.realcleardefense.com
 
I closed the previous topic of random nuclear weapon related news articles, but this one appears to have replaced it. I've merged them.

Nuclear weapons provoke strong feelings. Many of the articles posted are actually politically motivated editorial, not news. Please stick to actual news on nuclear weapons development or the topic will be closed again.
 
www.defensenews.com

US Air Force chief’s top modernization priorities aren’t what you think they are

"I’m not so much enamored with airplanes," the Air Force's top general told Defense News.
www.defensenews.com www.defensenews.com
Brown pointed to the recapitalization of the Air Force’s nuclear weapons and delivery systems as his No. 1 modernization priority.
“Nuclear modernization is there at the top,” Brown said. “That’s important.”
The Air Force plans to field new ICBMs and develop a new stealth bomber, almost concurrently, through the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent and B-21 Raider programs. During Brown’s four years as chief of staff, both efforts will hit critical milestones.
 

Air Force speeds up LRSO cruise missile development schedule​

The Air Force has received Raytheon's proposal for the Long-Range Standoff Weapon and will seek the Defense Acquisition Board's approval to begin developing the multibillion-dollar, nuclear-armed cruise missile next May, about nine months ahead of schedule

Navy keeping options open to 'tack on' additional submarines to 12-boat Columbia buy​

The Navy is entertaining future scenarios where the size of the Columbia-class submarine fleet grows beyond current plans for 12 boats, a potential option that would involve extending the production line beyond 2035 and require adjusting procurement plans for a follow-on Trident missile and associated weapon system the service is in the early stages of defining
 
I believe all new warheads are getting one; what’s odd is that they had to reinvent the wheel when such a mechanism was already installed on the W-76 mod1 a decade or two ago.
 
share-ng.sandia.gov

Flight tests to show B61-12 will work on Air Force’s newest fighter jet

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A mock B61-12’s strike in the dusty Nevada desert successfully completed the first in a series of flight tests with the U.S. Air Force’s newest fighter jet, demonstrating the
share-ng.sandia.gov share-ng.sandia.gov

We should be building a tactical hypersonic nuke that fits internally on the F-35 and a few hundred at least
 

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