In last week’s print edition of TWS, I wrote:
U.S. aversion to modernizing the arsenal does make some political sense given the economic downturn and general public disdain for nuclear weapons, but those political calculations must be balanced with the fact that neglecting the warhead inventory is fundamentally unsound national security policy. President Obama and Secretary Gates have both acknowledged that nuclear weapons will be a core component of our defense strategy for decades. As such, it is critical that our nukes are properly maintained — both for public safety and national security purposes.
Our adversaries understand this as well, and as I noted in last week’s issue, are aggressively beefing up their nuclear capabilities.
At a meeting yesterday with Putin, atomic energy chief Sergei Kiriyenko said enhancement of the nuclear test program would ensure that Russia’s strategic deterrent would remain viable without breaching the nation’s adherence to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (see GSN, May 6). The stockpile could be maintained for four to five decades through use of supercomputers and other systems, he indicated.
“I have closely studied it (the program). The document has been signed,” Putin said (Interfax, June 11).
Meanwhile, Russian Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers conducted a longest-ever patrol flight of 23 hours, breaking the previous record of 21 hours, the Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.
“This mission was the second maximum range flight ever conducted by this type of aircraft. A Tu-160 carried out a similar mission last year and stayed in the air for 21 hours,” Russian air force spokesman Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said yesterday, according to RIA Novosti.
The bombers flew over the Arctic and Pacific oceans and back into Russian territory, finally setting down in the Volga region.
Russia still trails behind the United States when it comes to the capabilities of our delivery systems and weapons, but the fact remains that they are a nuclear powerhouse that is wholly aligned against western interests. That means America’s commitment to maintaining a strong, credible nuclear deterrent must be absolute. Now that our START partner has indicated that it will work on new warhead designs, Congress should look very carefully at resuming funding on the Reliable Replacement Warhead.
