U.S. Strategic Command is tasked with presenting forces to the national decision makers and strategic deterrence options to the president, Stratcom Commander Air Force Gen. Anthony J. Cotton said today at the McAleese Defense Programs Conference in Washington.
He added that today's security environment is unprecedented, with multiple new armed strategic adversaries who have not followed the U.S. lead as responsible nuclear powers, often working with regional actors to the detriment of a stable international system.
For instance, he said, China's military buildup is ramping up, particularly its dual-use military-civilian shipyards and nuclear delivery platforms, adding that Chinese President Xi Jinping's directive is that China be prepared to seize Taiwan by 2027.
U.S. military production matters, he said. America has relied on its industry's ingenuity throughout its history. However, following the Cold War, there was no perceived near-peer competitor, so the U.S. took advantage of the peace dividend, scaling back the military industrial base and deferring nuclear modernization.
"But that peace dividend did not materialize … great power competition is back. That is why I speak today with a sense of urgency," the general said.
Nothing provides national power more than a modernized nuclear triad and nuclear command and control, Cotton said.
Some things that need to be delivered, he said, include the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, the Columbia-class submarine and the B-21 Raider bomber.
"Further delay of these programs will have cascading effects," Cotton said.
Also, the B-52 needs to be modernized with new engines and upgraded radar and electronic suites, he said.
Maintaining a sustained and credible nuclear deterrent isn't that expensive, considering the alternatives, Cotton said. Current funding for the Defense Department's nuclear portfolio is only around 4% of the budget.
The general said conventional capabilities complement nuclear deterrence. For instance, hypersonics provide a responsive, long-range, non-nuclear strike capability against non-critical threats without resorting to nuclear options.
They allow mission planners to tailor strategies and plans that will enable the president to have an extended range of options across all phases of conflict and to control escalation, Cotton noted.
Other important options for the president include cyber and space capabilities as well as unmanned, inexpensive systems in the air and water, he said.
The character of warfare is changing, he said. Data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning will be applied to battlefield systems, for example.
The window of opportunity for production and modernization is closing, he said. "If we don't get it right, we won't have an opportunity to come back and do it later."