Future US nuclear weapons plans

Hearings in the US Congress have revealed information on the Bush administration's plans for nuclear weapons. On the one hand their are proposals to reduce the number of weapons which are operational, on the other hand research will go ahead into new nuclear arms.

Following an announcement in November 2001, the number of deployed weapons will be reduced from 6,000 to between 2,200 and 1,700 within 10 years. However most of these warheads will not be destroyed but put into storage, from where they could be reactivated.

The main focus of the nuclear effort in the next 10 years will be to refurbish warheads for Trident and for the Minuteman III InterContinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM), as well as airlaunched cruise and B61 bombs.

At the same time there will be a three year study into designing earth penetrating nuclear weapons to destroy hardened underground targets. Two designs are being considered for this, one from each of the main nuclear weapon laboratories- Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore.

Longer term plans are to build a new ICBM which would be operational by 2020, a replacement for Trident which would be operational by 2030 and a new bomber for 2040.

The Natural Resources Defense Council which monitors nuclear weapons issues said: "Not since the resurgence of the Cold War in Ronald Reagan's first term has there been such an emphasis on nuclear weapons in US defense strategy."