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 […]
Fact Sheet: Nuclear Sea-Launched Cruise Missiles
Updated January 2023 The Biden administration has decided against developing a new nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) and its associated warhead. In FY23 budget documents, the Navy stated that “the program was cost prohibitive and the acquisition schedule would have delivered capability late to need.” Despite the Navy’s opposition and concerns the SLCM would negatively […]
World Nuclear Inventories
Updated June 29, 2023 There are nine nuclear-armed countries worldwide with about 13,000 nuclear weapons between them. The United States and Russia together have more than 90 percent of those weapons.
U.S. Navy Funds New Submarine-Launched Nuclear Cruise Missile Biden Called “A Bad Idea”
Research Analyst Monica Montgomery was quoted in Forbes about the Biden administration’s decision to fund a new nuclear-armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile, known as SLCM-N, in his fiscal year 2022 budget request. “Putting nuclear-armed missiles back on the conventional surface or attack submarine fleets of the Navy is a real cause for concern,” says Monica Montgomery […]
Fiscal Year 2022 Defense Budget Request Briefing Book
Total National Defense Discretionary Spending Request (050) Allocation FY 21 Enacted FY 22 Request Department of Defense $703.7 billion $715 billion Department of Energy & Other Agencies $37 billion $37.9 billion Total, National Defense Spending Request $740.7 billion $753 billion (+1.7%) [Source: Department of Defense, FY 2022 Budget Briefing] Total Nuclear Weapons Spending Agency FY21 Enacted FY22 […]