The United States has released footage showcasing its nuclear deterrence capabilities amid escalating tensions with Russia over a potential peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense and foreign ministries for comment via email.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump revealed last week that he had ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines in response to former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's nuclear threat, as Washington advanced the deadline for Moscow to agree to a ceasefire with Kyiv.
The U.S. military maintains the world's second-largest nuclear arsenal, with 3,700 warheads available for potential use, according to an assessment by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. By comparison, the Russian military stockpile contains 4,309 nuclear warheads.
U.S. nuclear warheads are designed for deployment aboard ballistic missile submarines, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, and bomber aircraft, which together form the nuclear triad, ensuring the nation can respond to a nuclear attack under any circumstances.
What To Know
U.S. Strategic Command—responsible for strategic deterrence and nuclear operations—released three short videos on Monday showcasing its land-based, sea-based, and air-based nuclear deterrence forces.
"Peace is our profession," the command stated in each video.
The release of the footage follows operations by the U.S. ballistic missile submarine USS Maryland—capable of carrying up to 20 nuclear missiles—in the North Atlantic Ocean near Portugal's Azores islands in July. The submarine may be deployed for a deterrent patrol.
The U.S. Navy's Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine fleet, consisting of 14 vessels, is described by U.S. Strategic Command as the most survivable pillar of the nuclear triad, capable of continuously operating stealthily around the globe to guarantee national security.
A total of 400 Minuteman III missiles are deployed in hardened silos. They are connected to underground launch control centers and maintained by crews on 24/7 alert, providing what U.S. Strategic Command calls "a quick-reacting and highly survivable response capability."
According to the Federation of American Scientists, about four or five U.S. nuclear-capable submarines are on patrol in their designated areas of the Pacific or Atlantic at any given time, while another four or five subs can reach full alert status within hours or days.
The land-based component of the U.S. nuclear triad is the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and one the three videos released on Monday includes undated footage of a Minuteman III being launched. The U.S. Air Force regularly conducts unarmed missile tests.
B-2 and B-52H bombers form the most visible component of the nuclear triad, according to U.S. Strategic Command. Unlike silo-based ICBMs and submarines that remain hidden underwater on deterrent patrols, bombers can be openly deployed.
While the U.S. military operates 19 B-2 and 76 B-52H bombers, the Federation of American Scientists estimates that about 18 B-2 and 42 B-52H bombers are assigned to the Pentagon's nuclear war plans. Unlike the B-2 fleet, not all B-52H bombers can deliver nuclear weapons.
What People Are Saying
The U.S. Defense Department said of the country's nuclear triad: "For more than six decades, the United States has emphasized the need for a nuclear force that credibly deters adversaries, assures allies and partners, achieves U.S. objectives should deterrence fail, and hedges against uncertain threats. Since the 1960s, these objectives have been met by the U.S. nuclear Triad through forces operating at sea, on land, and in the air."
The Federation of American Scientists wrote in a report on U.S. nuclear weapons: "The United States is embarking on an ambitious plan to overhaul its nuclear weapons arsenal over the next three decades, though the modernization effort has faced significant political, financial, and logistical challenges."
What Happens Next
Following the release of the footage, Russia announced that it no longer recognizes restrictions on deploying conventional and nuclear missiles with ranges between 310 and 3,417 miles—banned under the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
