![]() The plan is to cut back on surplus warheads dramatically by integrating seven existing types of warhead into a single type and also converting two ICBM warheads and three SLCM warheads into three mutually compatible warheads ( NNSA 2018). nuclear arsenal initiated by the previous administration is believed to be in progress today. Meanwhile, a major modernization of the U.S. has long-term plans to develop SLCMs and other nuclear weapons that could be used for preemptive strike. The W76-2, a W76-1 modification with reduced yields of 5-7 kilotons, is now in production and will be turned over to the Navy starting from late FY2019 ( Kristensen, Hans M. The Trump administration’s posture has indicated willingness to respond to conventional attack with nuclear weapons, aiming to lower the threshold for nuclear retaliation and broaden the role of nuclear weapons. On February 2, 2018, the Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) fundamentally reversed the previous administration’s NPR, which had sought to reduce the role of nuclear weapons. Besides these, there exist some 2,050 warheads in reserve, bringing the total size of the stockpile for military use to a combined 3,800 warheads. One reason for the discrepancy may be due to the New START Treaty of counting only one warhead per strategic bomber, as opposed to accounting for all other warheads stored on base where bombers are stationed. This number is greater than the 1,365 strategic nuclear warheads in operational deployment registered under the New START as on Ma( U.S. The strategic warheads are deployed with ICBMs, SLBMs and strategic bombers. & Korda, Matt 2019-1), almost unchanged from a year ago. Nuclear warheads in operational deployment are estimated to number 1,750: 1,600 strategic warheads and 150 non-strategic ( Kristensen, Hans M. This episode suggests the likelihood of the Trump administration continuing into the future to block public access to the current size of stocked and dismantled nuclear warheads, raising concerns for limited transparency. The last update, provided in March 2018, reported a total 3,822 warheads as of September 30, 2017( U.S.Department of Defense 2018), indicating a reduction of 1,291 over a eight-year period.However, in response to an Octopetition by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) seeking status on stocked and dismantled nuclear warheads as of the end of September 2018, the Department of Defense wrote in April 2019 that it could not disclose the data without offering any rationale ( Aftergood, Steven 2019). Since 2014, it has been updated almost annually. Department of Defense issued a fact sheet on its nuclear stockpile, which reported 5,113 warheads as of September 2009 ( U.S.Department of Defense 2010). The United States has traditionally been considered to be the most transparent (though insufficient) of the nuclear-weapon states.
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