Updated August 2024 The land-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad is currently composed of 400 deployed Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) based out of Malmstrom, Minot, and Warren Air Force bases in underground silos stretching across Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado. Each ICBM carries one warhead — either the W87 or the […]
Joe Biden’s Plan to Extend Russia Nuclear Treaty Praised by Arms Control Groups
Executive Director John Tierney was quoted in Newsweek about the Biden administration’s plan to extend the New START agreement with Russia for the full five years allowed by the treaty. “Extending New START for the full five years allowed under the terms of the agreement is the right decision,” John Tierney, executive director of the […]
Fact Sheet: The Nuclear Triad
Updated May 12, 2025 The U.S. nuclear arsenal comprises thousands of nuclear weapons and three methods of delivery, sometimes called “legs.” Warheads can be launched from the air via strategic bombers carrying gravity bombs or cruise missiles, from the sea by submarines holding ballistic missiles, or from underground silos housing intercontinental ballistic missiles. Collectively, these […]
Conference Outcomes of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act
Topline Funding Nuclear Weapons and Related Programs Columbia Class Strategic Submarine House: $4.33 billion, the requested amount Senate: $4.51 billion, an increase of $175 million Conference Outcome: $4.46 billion, an increase of $130 million B-21 Long-Range Strike Bomber House: $2.8 billion, the requested amount Senate: $2.8 billion, the requested amount Conference Outcome: $2.8 billion, the requested amount Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) House: $1.52 billion, the […]
Op-ed: The West Wing Shows How Outdated U.S. Nuclear Policy Really Is
Communications Director Anna Schumann wrote an op-ed in Inkstick about how an episode of The West Wing about the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty that aired 20 years ago is still unfortunately resonant today. “Like so many others working in Washington amid the stresses of our current political climate, I recently decided to retreat to the fantasy […]
