Paper
James M. Acton, Ankit Panda
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Source: Getty
Testimony
Future Defense Spending: Nuclear Modernization
Almost every U.S. nuclear delivery system, missile, and warhead will require some kind of modernization over the next ten to twenty years. Key elements of the nuclear command-and-control system and nuclear warhead infrastructure will too.
Published on Mar 23, 2021
Source: House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Defense
Nuclear weapons appear to help deter nuclear aggression and prevent large-scale conventional conflict in a small number of high-consequence contingencies. Ensuring the efficacy of nuclear deterrence, therefore, is in the national security interests of the United States and its allies—so too are cooperative efforts to reduce the risks of escalation and arms racing and to create the political and security conditions under which nuclear weapons could be safely eliminated. For appropriators, the most salient nuclear policy questions are those with financial implications—in particular, how should the United States maintain and modernize its nuclear forces and their supporting infrastructure?
This testimony was given before the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Defense.
About the Author
James M. Acton
Jessica T. Mathews Chair, Co-director, Nuclear Policy Program
Acton holds the Jessica T. Mathews Chair and is co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
- Nuclear Weapons and the Future of American Power
- The Latest Iran Deal Ignores the Lessons of the PastCommentary
James M. Acton
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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