If the Air Force values the nuclear deterrent mission “it must change its ways” and properly recapitalize its nuclear missile, bomber, and command and control infrastructure, said Franklin Miller, former National Security Council defense and arms control director. “It appears, at least to this observer, that the Air Force leadership simply does not care about its nuclear deterrence,” said Miller during a May 13 talk on Capitol Hill sponsored by AFA, the National Defense Industrial Association, and the Reserve Officers Association. “The modernization of the strategic bomber force is in disarray with the [Long-Range Strike Bomber] program slipping to the right and … having an explicitly non-nuclear role” in its planned initial operational capability. In addition, Minuteman III ICBMs will “become increasingly unreliable” without serious propulsion, guidance, and infrastructure upgrades, sacrificing their credibility, said Miller. The United States is “blessed as a nation” to have at least one leg of its nuclear triad in the hands of the Navy, “whose dedication to excellence” keeping up the submarine-launched ballistic missile capability “is legendary,” he added.
Recent Russian and Chinese tests of space weapons are a "natural consequence of military behaviors," and the U.S. must now "mitigate this threat," the Space Force's operations chief said. “When you are behind, you look for ways to seek vulnerabilities of your adversary and your competitor so that you can…