September 16, 2019
America's Nuclear Missile Submarines May Get Smaller Tactical Nukes
But is it a good idea?
by John R. Harvey
Key point: Low-yield nukes would give Washington more ways to deter its rivals, but also might raise the chance of a nuclear device being used.
Just last month, in light of the upcoming House-Senate debate on U.S. nuclear modernization, Sen. Elizabeth Warren along with seventeen Democratic Senators wrote to the Senate Armed Services Committee urging support for three nuclear initiatives that were adopted in the House defense bill. Specifically, the initiatives (1) express the sense of Congress that the United States seeks to extend the New START Treaty with Russia, (2) deny funding for new INF-type missiles "until diplomatic and strategic planning steps are taken", and (3) prohibit deployment of a lower-yield warhead for the Trident D-5 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/americas-nuclear-missile-submarines-may-get-smaller-tactical-nukes-80926
