nuclear-news

• three sources have said that Biden will put more emphasis on arms control
• He plans to reassess the huge expenditure on the modernization program
• Experts believe the Pentagon’s budget could be better allocated to other areas  

Daily Mail, By CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE 30 December 2020  President-elect Joe Biden is eyeing cuts to America’s $1.2 trillion nuclear modernization program and could reverse the Trump administration’s efforts to develop a new warhead, sources have said.

According to CNN, two transition officials and an outside adviser to the incoming administration have said that Biden instead intends to place a greater emphasis on arms control.

The incoming commander in chief plans to reassess the more than $1 trillion nuclear modernization program and determine whether it warrants the large expenditure, the three sources told the news organisation.

According to the experts, the issue is partly due to finances, with the program taking up a large proportion of the Pentagon’s budget that could be allocated to evolving conventional and asymmetric weaponry. ……..

The issue is particular pertinent as a Cold War-era nuclear agreement with Moscow expires just 16 days after Biden takes office on January 20.

Many experts believe that the modernization program has grown bloated under President Donald Trump, CNN reports, and instead sustained increases in overall military spending are required in the coming decades……….

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Trump administration aimed to spend nearly $500 billion – accounting for inflation adjustments – on maintaining and replacing its nuclear arsenal over the coming decade…….

While progress has been made in reducing Cold War nuclear arsenals, the world’s overall nuclear inventory remains at a very high level – although this number is also coming down gradually.

Approximately 91 percent of all nuclear warheads belong to either Russia or the US, each of which has around 4,000 warheads in their stockpiles….. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9096071/Joe-Biden-eyeing-cuts-Americas-1-2trillion-nuclear-modernization-program.html