Russia and China are beginning to take the lead in nuclear weapons technology, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer told Newsmax on Thursday.
"The technologies that are available to modernize how weapons are shaped, they're deployed, and that sort of thing has changed greatly," Shaffer told "The Chris Salcedo Show."
"The Chinese and Russians have developed a new generation of weapons, which basically are virtually radiation-free regarding blast effect, which is significant. So we've got to catch up."
The focus on nuclear weapons follows comments from President Donald Trump about the potential of working with Russia and China to take the emphasis off nuclear weapons.
Shaffer said that may be hard to do, since the U.S. has fallen behind in that area.
"The Russians currently have more warheads than we do, and they continue to test," he said.
"The Chinese have about 300 warheads. They're going to about 1,000 by 2030, developing other technologies to deliver those as well.
"So we can't sit back. And we have not done any substantive testing of nuclear weapons since 1992," Shaffer said.
"And ... I don't know of anybody who drives a car made in 1992. The technology has changed significantly."
On Oct. 29, Trump posted on Truth Social: "The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office.
"Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years.
"Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis," he said.
Trump told a business forum in Florida on Wednesday that he'd like to see Russia and China work with him to reduce the emphasis of all three nations on nuclear weapons.
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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