The United States faces an unprecedented challenge in simultaneously deterring two nuclear peers, China and Russia, which are developing and deploying capabilities threatening the U.S. nuclear system. The potential for joint, concerted action by these nations further complicates deterrence calculus, raising the prospect of nuclear decapitation, an issue last confronted by policymakers some 40 years ago.
Eric Edelman's 'The Three-Body Problem' provides an overview of Chinese and Russian nuclear capabilities, emphasizing the critical need to modernize not only America’s nuclear forces but also its nuclear command, control, and communication (NC3) system. NC3 is the key enabler for incorporating nuclear weapons into a national defense strategy, providing positive and negative control of a nuclear force. The growing strategic cooperation between Russia and China underscores the primacy of NC3 modernization in the face of this escalating threat of nuclear decapitation.
No comments:
Post a Comment