The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review Executive Summary may be of interest
to some readers.
The U.S. 2018 Nuclear Posture Review web site :-
https://dod.defense.gov/News/Special...ureReview.aspx
The Executive Summary (translations also available in Russian, Chinese,
Korean, Japanese and French) :-
https://media.defense.gov/2018/Feb/0...VE-SUMMARY.PDF
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Nuclear Posture 2018 Executive Summary
The United States currently operates 14 OHIO-class SSBNs and will continue to take
the steps needed to ensure that OHIO SSBNs remain operationally effective and
survivable until replaced by the COLUMBIA-class SSBN. The COLUMBIA program
will deliver a minimum of 12 SSBNs to replace the current OHIO fleet and is designed
to provide required deterrence capabilities for decades.
The ICBM force consists of 400 single-warhead Minuteman III missiles deployed in
underground silos and dispersed across several states. The United States has initiated
the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program to begin the replacement of
Minuteman III in 2029. The GBSD program will also modernize the 450 ICBM launch
facilities that will support the fielding of 400 ICBMs.
The bomber leg of the triad consists of 46 nuclear-capable B-52H and 20 nuclear-capable
B-2A “stealth” strategic bombers. The United States has initiated a program to develop
and deploy the next-generation bomber, the B-21 Raider. It will first supplement, and
eventually replace elements of the conventional and nuclear-capable bomber force
beginning in the mid-2020s.
The B83-1 and B61-11 gravity bombs can hold at risk a variety of protected targets. As
a result, both will be retained in the stockpile, at least until there is sufficient confidence
in the B61-12 gravity bomb that will be available in 2020.
Beginning in 1982, B-52H bombers were equipped with ALCMs. Armed with ALCMs,
the B-52H can stay outside adversary air defenses and remain effective. The ALCM,
however, is now more than 25 years past its design life and faces continuously improving
adversary air defense systems. The Long-Range Stand-Off (LRSO) cruise missile
replacement program will maintain into the future the bomber force capability to deliver
stand-off weapons that can penetrate and survive advanced integrated air defense
systems, thus supporting the long-term effectiveness of the bomber leg.
The current non-strategic nuclear force consists exclusively of a relatively small number
of B61 gravity bombs carried by F-15E and allied dual capable aircraft (DCA). The
United States is incorporating nuclear capability onto the forward-deployable, nuclear capable F-35
as a replacement for the current aging DCA.
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