Nuclear Modernization Tops Pentagon Budget Priorities - US Joint Chiefs Chairman

Nuclear Modernization Tops Pentagon Budget Priorities - US Joint Chiefs Chairman

Investing billions in modernizing the US nuclear triad is the number one priority of the military budget, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley said in congressional testimony on Wednesday

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) Investing billions in modernizing the US nuclear triad is the number one priority of the military budget, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley said in congressional testimony on Wednesday.

"The number one priority of the United States, the budget, is to make sure that we have a safe, secure, guaranteed nuclear enterprise," Milley said at the House Armed Services Committee hearing. "We are at the point now where we have to modernize and invest in a triad in order to ensure ourselves security in the future. It's very expensive. I know that we all recognize that but it's absolutely critical to the security of the United States."

He called Russia, which pursues its own nuclear modernization program, the only country on Earth that represents "an actual, no-kidding existential threat to the United States of America."

"Every man, woman, child can be killed by the Russians. We can do the same to them. They know that, we know that, hence we have mutually assured destruction, hence deterrence," Milley said, when asked by one of the panel members to justify the expenses. "So maintaining a guaranteed nuclear enterprise is critical."

He added that China, another potential US nuclear adversary, is "rapidly" growing its capabilities.