Re-Establishing Non-Strategic Nuclear Capabilities in the United States Navy
William Atkins5 days ago1 Comment4 Mins Read
 
In an era marked by escalating tensions, the concept of nuclear deterrence still holds profound significance and elicits multifaceted discussion and debate. One proposition in the defense community is the reintroduction of a non-strategic nuclear capability within the United States Navy, by way of the sea-launched cruise missile-nuclear (SLCM-N). What is missing in the debate is an in-depth analysis from a tactical standpoint, focusing on the capabilities, costs, and communication strategies pertinent to such a proposition.

Capabilities Assessment

The possible introduction of SLCM-N to the attack submarine fleet creates an imperative that requires assessing the weapon’s efficiency in enhancing the United States’ ability to both deter an adversary and defeat it, if necessary. From a tactical standpoint, the deployment of SLCM-N offers enhanced flexibility and responsiveness, enabling targeted precision strikes against key adversary assets.

Additionally, the versatility of SLCM-N enables credible deterrence across a spectrum of threats, bolstering the United States’ strategic resilience in an increasingly volatile geopolitical environment. By utilizing and retrofitting existing or in-process systems, it is possible to make SLCM-N a variable-yield, stealthy, and surgically precise tactical-/battlefield-employable nuclear system. Furthermore, the necessity for a more regionally targeted nuclear weapon capability is necessary, now more than ever, to deter aggression in both EUCOM and INDOPACOM theaters and potentially provide greater assurance to partners and allies.

https://globalsecurityreview.com/re-establishing-non-strategic-nuclear-capabilities-in-the-united-states-navy/

US special forces want longer reach for rockets, snipers, robots
By Todd South
 Thursday, May 9, 2024
 
TAMPA, Fla. — Special operators are pushing for more firepower in their small teams, asking industry for a lighter shoulder-fired rocket, a long-range sniper rifle, and both land- and air-based weaponized drones.

Lt. Col. Tosh Lancaster told the audience at the Special Operations Force Week conference that U.S. Special Operations Command plans to publish a request for information covering a “Javelin light” by late fiscal 2024 or early fiscal 2025.


The program for a tactical precision missile would give small teams of special operators the capabilities of the current shoulder-fired, anti-tank Javelin rocket but in a smaller package.

https://www.militarytimes.com/smr/sofic/2024/05/09/us-special-forces-want-longer-reach-for-rockets-snipers-robots/

What Drives the General Who Ordered Missile Cancer Study: ‘If I Don’t Care, Who Does?’
May 9, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

The Air Force general who oversees the nation’s land-based nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile fleet said he is strongly committed to an ongoing study of cancer cases among crews who worked around ICBMs.

“I’m the commander of this mission, and if I don’t care, who does?” Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “It’s my job.”

He also has a personal stake in the issue.

“When I was at Langley Air Force Base flying F-15s, several of my colleagues got different types of cancers, a couple of them died. I got cancer,” he said. “When I was a captain, I asked the Air Force to look into things like that. And quite frankly, you know, we were not interested in doing that.”

In 2021, the Air Force released a study on increased rates of some cancers among fighter pilots. That led to a broader 2022 DOD review of aviators’ cancer rates that drew similar conclusions.

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-general-missile-cancer-study-bussiere/

Wife of U.S. soldier detained in Russia says he was having an affair, not involved in 'geopolitical intrigue'
Megan Black said her husband's trip to Russia was "ill-advised" but simply part of an extramarital affair. Black's mother said she thought he had been set up by his girlfriend.
 
 
May 10, 2024, 5:55 AM EDT
By Patrick Smith
The wife of Gordon Black, the American soldier detained on theft charges in Russia, said he traveled there because he was having an affair and was not involved in "geopolitical intrigue."

Megan Black is in the process of divorcing her husband and called on Russian authorities through a statement from her attorney, Brett Pritchard, to release him to provide comfort to their 6-year-old daughter.

She said she had no knowledge of his trip to Vladivostok in eastern Russia until an Army investigation branch official contacted her asking for information on what was at first a missing person inquiry, and only learned about the details of the trip after NBC News broke the story of his detention Monday.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wife-us-soldier-detained-russia-affair-divorce-gordon-black-girlfriend-rcna151612

Tester confronts Austin over ‘unacceptable’ border crisis in sharp exchange
BY ALEXANDER BOLTON - 05/09/24 3:44 PM ET
 
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, confronted Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over the migrant crisis at the southern border during a sharp exchange on Capitol Hill.

Tester, who is one of the Senate’s most vulnerable incumbents, let Austin know in blunt terms that he’s fed up with the Biden administration’s failure to secure the border, though he also acknowledged Congress’s failure to pass border security reforms is also a problem.


“Look, I’ve repeatedly called upon [Homeland Security] Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas and President Biden and Congress to step up and fix what’s going on at the southern border. It’s not sustainable at all, and it’s unacceptable,” he told Austin sternly during a hearing Wednesday.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4654516-tester-austin-border-crisis-exchange/