One of the Pentagon's top generals spoke about the dire threats of Russia
and China's nuclear weapons at this time. One of them is the Skyfall
intercontinental cruise missile, which most people liken to the flying
Chernobyl.
Chernoyl was the Soviet Union's nuclear reactor in Ukraine which experienced
a massive explosion and leak on April 26, 1986. It was recorded as the worst
nuclear accident in history.
Air Force Major General Ferdinand B. Stoss, Director of Strategic Command
Plans and Policy (STRATCOM), said at the virtual 2022 Nuclear Prevention
Summit on Monday that in the face of an unprecedented moment in history, the
US needs to recalibrate its dealings with two nuclear partners; China and
Russia. The recalibration is to modernize all of its nuclear assets.
Speaking to an audience of industry officials, academia, and others, Stoss
painted a picture of a strategic environment that, in some ways, even
surpassed what the US faced during the Cold War.
"I think we can agree that the United States, our allies, our partners have
not faced this kind of threat for more than 30 years," he said.
"And not just a threat. As I mentioned earlier, this is the first time
we have had the dynamics of a three-party nuclear partner," he said.
"And we have no history of this. It's epic. And I don't think we've fully
dealt with all the consequences that will have as we march into the future,
but we absolutely need to."
For decades now, Stoss added, the US has been embroiled in a conflict in
which it has largely been able to control the level of violence. Now,
however, that is changing.
"Today, both Russia and China have the ability to unilaterally escalate at
any level of violence, across any domain, to any geographic location, and do
so at any time of their choosing," Stoss said.
Of the two, said Stoss, Russia is the greater near-term threat, as it
develops new weapons with amazing destructive capabilities but questionable
safety.
"Russia is building everything from their hypersonic anti-ship vehicle to
their Skyfall nuclear-powered intercontinental cruise missile," Stoss said.
"I've heard other people's opinions, they call it 'Chernobyl flying'.
And that's not far from the truth, what with their safety, or lack of, with
that ability," he explained.
China, meanwhile, is building on its own capabilities in what Stoss called
"amazing", echoing the words of his boss, US Strategic Command commander
Admiral Charles "Chas" A. Richard.
Throughout the summer and fall of 2021, satellite imagery revealed that
China was building hundreds of missile silos.
The Pentagon's own report on China's military prowess estimates that Beijing
could possess 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030, a figure Stoss also repeated.
“Why did they make this strategic breakthrough? We don't know exactly.
They're very unclear about what they're doing with nukes, and they always
have been," Stoss said.
"But, you know, maybe this is just one more brick that has to be laid to
strengthen their capacity to play a much bolder role, certainly in the
region and around the world, and they think they need this nuclear
foundation."
It is important to remember, added Stoss, that this kind of growth does not
happen by chance or without heavy planning and investment.
"To be sure, to have these types of breakthroughs and the capabilities
they bring online will take years to plan, develop, and then actually
build," Stoss said.
The Pentagon, on the other hand, is trying to develop a number of new
programs, including the Ground-Based Strategic Countermeasures, Long Range
Standoff Weapons, B-21 bombers, Columbia-class submarines, and a new nuclear
command, control, and communications (NC3) network.
The need to modernize so many different capabilities at the same time, Stoss
said, is something the US has brought with it itself.
"One common thread I think we have across departments: Three legs of our
nuclear triad, NC3, and nuclear weapons complex is, we're at our knees with
this system," Stoss said.
"And, sadly, now that we've taken that knee and we've accepted this risk,
we've found that we no longer have the option of taking that risk, that
we're modernizing in a timely manner, literally across the board.
It may not apply to each and every system, but it definitely does when you
look at it as a whole," he added, as quoted by Air Force Magazine, Tuesday
(8/2/2022).
