By John Isaacs There is a rising clamor in Washington, D.C., appealing for a substantial increase in the U.S. military budget to confront a resurgent China. However, despite China’s military buildup, the United States will maintain a substantial lead in key capacities, such as nuclear weapons, combat aircraft and aircraft carriers (see chart below). The China […]
Members of Congress Pressure Biden to Reverse Trump Landmine Policy
By Nils Holst, Policy Intern In a bid to have the United States join a global landmine ban, a group of Members of Congress released a letter to President Joe Biden last month calling on him to bar the U.S. military from continuing to use anti-personnel landmines, highlighting more than two decades of foot-dragging by Democratic and Republican administrations to end the […]
Erasing the line between theater and strategic defense systems: Implications for U.S.-Russia relations
By Samuel M. Hickey President Joe Biden has inherited a missile defense architecture that is on the verge of bridging the gap between the long-accepted demarcation of theater systems and those defending the U.S. homeland. The Pentagon has ordered the transfer of 11 SM-3 Block II A interceptors to the Navy for possible deployment in the Pacific […]
World Nuclear Inventories
Updated June 2025 There are nine nuclear-armed countries worldwide with about 12,000 nuclear weapons between them. The United States and Russia together have more than 90 percent of those weapons.
Missile Defense on Guam and the China Threat
By Genevieve Hackman Outgoing head of the Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Philip Davidson has made no secret what he believes to be the number one regional military threat: China. In March, he painted a grim picture for the Senate Armed Services Committee: “I worry that they [China] are accelerating their ambitions to supplant the United States,” […]
