Defense Department Adjusts Nuclear Deterrence Strategy

A deputy assistant secretary of defense said that the growing number of "nuclear competitors" is forcing the Department of Defense to adjust its nuclear deterrence strategy.

Richard C. Johnson, deputy assistant secretary for nuclear and countering weapons of mass destruction policy, made the comments Wednesday during a panel discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Project on Nuclear Issues in Washington, D.C.

"We are now in a world where we're facing multiple nuclear competitors — multiple states that are growing, diversifying, and modernizing their nuclear arsenals and also, unfortunately, prioritizing the role that nuclear weapons play in their national security strategies," Johnson told the panel.

Johnson said adjustments to the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review are likely in order "to sustain the ability to achieve nuclear deterrence, in light of enhanced nuclear capabilities of China and Russia."

Johnson said the DOD along with the National Nuclear Security Administration have already made changes to enhance nuclear deterrence. DOD earlier this month submitted a report to Congress enumerating changes from previous guidance given the "new deterrence challenges," Johnson said.

The 491 Report directs that the United States:

• "Plans to deter multiple nuclear-armed adversaries simultaneously;
• "Requires the integration of non-nuclear capabilities, where feasible, to support the nuclear deterrence mission;
• "Stresses the importance of escalation management in U.S. planning for responding to limited nuclear attack or high-consequence, non-nuclear strategic attack;
• "Enables deeper consultation, coordination and combined planning with allies and partners in order to strengthen U.S. extended deterrence commitments."

"To be prepared for the 2030s, we have to modernize our nuclear forces, the nuclear command and control, and the associated infrastructure that will allow us to be flexible and adjust over time as new challenges arise, whether that's new threats or potential changes or delays in our modernization," Grant Schneider, vice deputy director for strategic stability at the Joint Staff, told the panel.

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