Anti-Nuclear News
From END Info 35
‘Accelerated deployment’
In October, Politico ran a report on plans to accelerate the deployment of the new generation of B61 bombs to Europe. The report claims:
“The United States has accelerated the fielding of a more accurate version of its mainstay nuclear bomb to NATO bases in Europe, according to a U.S. diplomatic cable and two people familiar with the issue.
The arrival of the upgraded B61-12 air-dropped gravity bomb, originally slated for next spring, is now planned for this December, U.S. officials told NATO allies during a closed-door meeting in Brussels this month, the cable reveals.”
US military sources quoted in the report declined to comment on the specifics, claiming that the modernisation and deployment is part of a “long-planned” effort. Hans Kristensen, from the Federation of American Scientists, suggested that it would be “odd” to rush the deployment, given heightened nuclear tensions.
Whether or not the deployment of the new B61-12 nuclear bombs has been accelerated, the presence of such weapons at sites across Europe, along with the F35E aircraft designed to carry them, marks a dangerous new episode in the history of US nuclear weapons on the continent.
US Mid-Range Capability battery
According to a December 3 2022 report on the ‘US Army News’ website, the United States has taken possession of the first prototype ‘Mid-Range Capability’ [MRC] battery. The new weapon “a land-based, ground-launched system with a range between the Army’s Precision Strike Missile and the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon.”
The report further notes that “the MRC provides a fires capability that has not existed in the US Army since the implementation of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty in 1987.”
A Congressional Research Service report, updated on 6 December 2022, notes that:
“the U.S. Army is seeking to improve its ability to deliver what it refers to as long-range precision fires (LRPF) by upgrading current artillery and missile systems, developing new longer-ranged cannons and hypersonic weapons, and modifying existing air- and sea-launched missiles for ground launch. Army leadership has stated LRPF is its number one modernization priority.
The MRC Weapon System is part of the Army’s LRPF modernization portfolio. It is intended to hit targets at ranges between the Army’s Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) (about 300 miles maximum range) and the developmental Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) system (about 1,725 miles maximum range).”
There is, as yet, no precise information about where these missile battery’s will be based, but the CRS report explains that:
“On March 30, 2021, the Chief of Staff of the Army discussing the LRHW, reportedly noted, “The politics of where they’re based, how they’re based, will be up to the policymakers and the diplomats.” In a similar manner, overseas basing of MRC batteries will also be subject to political decisions. Given range limitations of Army long-range precision fires systems, the inability to secure overseas basing rights for these units could limit or negate their effectiveness. On December 1, 2021, the Secretary of the Army reportedly stated, “the Army is ready, when called upon, to be able to put those kinds of capabilities in the region. But it’s really [the State and Defense Departments] that will take the lead in those discussions.” Reportedly, in May 2022, the Secretary of the Army stated the Army did not yet have basing agreements for long-range systems but “discussions were ongoing” with a number of countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Given the importance of basing, Congress might examine ongoing efforts to secure Army long-range precision fires unit basing in both Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.”
Developing and deploying such a conventionally-armed system, the likes of which have not existed since the 1987 INF Treaty, is yet further indication that the US has no intention whatsoever of resurrecting the Treaty: something which should be a priority for President Biden.
New B-21 Stealth bomber
"The B-21 Raider is the first strategic bomber in more than three decades," U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin said during the unveiling of the Northrup Grumman constructed aircraft on 2 December 2022. He continued: "It is a testament to America's enduring advantages in ingenuity and innovation. And it's proof of the Department's [DoD’s] long-term commitment to building advanced capabilities that will fortify America's ability to deter aggression, today and into the future."
The US Air Force is reported to have requested 100 of these new bombers, each of which cost an estimated $692 million. Time magazine has estimated that the total cost of the project over three decades amounts to $203 billion.
The capabilities and dimensions of the new aircraft are classified but it is assumed that they are capable of carrying nuclear bombs.
Safety threat of prolonged Trident patrols
Commander Robert Forsyth RN (Ret’d), author of Why Trident? (Spokesman Books), has warned in an article for BASIC that “reliable anecdotal evidence suggests that Royal Navy submariners serving aboard the United Kingdom’s current Trident patrols are serving for 150 days or more.” Commander Forsyth continues: “during my appointment as the Second-in Command (and on occasion, in command) of a Polaris missile-equipped Resolution class submarine, HMS Repulse, at a time when our regular continuous submerged patrols never exceeded 60-70 days.”
Forsyth concludes: “The implications of these prolonged patrol lengths on nuclear safety is a subject which the Ministry of Defence will not acknowledge or discuss under the blanket of secrecy generally imposed on any information concerned with nuclear weapons or nuclear propulsion safety ... One can only hope that there is an awareness that patrol lengths may be having a negative impact on crew wellbeing. Speaking from the outside, as a concerned citizen and former-submariner, it is hard to establish the human cost and associated risks of abnormal behaviour, unless an incident draws attention to it – by which time, of course, it will be too late.”