Does the Air Force need a new nuclear armed cruise missile? Does this fit with reducing the arsenal?

[bigtree]

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Air Force plans to spend more than $800 million to build a new nuclear-armed cruise missile for its bomber aircraft, according to little-noticed details buried inside the Obama administration's fiscal 2011 budget request delivered last month to Capitol Hill.

A "Follow-on Long-Range Stand-off Vehicle," or LRSO for short, would replace 375 aging AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise Missiles, expected to retire from the fleet by 2030. The Defense Department has estimated the new effort could cost a total $1.3 billion, Global Security Newswire has learned.

"The current system is experiencing obsolescence of parts and components," the Air Force stated in one budget document. "Missile components and support equipment are becoming non-supportable."

Inclusion of the funds in the White House budget request is sure to rankle lawmakers on the left flank of President Barack Obama's political base, who have supported his commitment to taking "concrete steps" toward the eventual global elimination of nuclear weapons. Obama laid out this vision in a major speech last April in Prague, an event frequently cited as helping him win a Nobel Peace Prize.

On the other side of the aisle, Republicans can be expected to welcome the cruise missile plans as a potential indication of the administration's intent to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The Senate's entire GOP contingent in December told Obama that their support for the president's arms control agenda would rest on his commitment to funding modern replacements or updates for U.S. nuclear weapons.

At the same time, the Air Force is conducting an "analysis of alternatives" aimed at weighing technical options for replacing the AGM-86B, which was first deployed in 1982. The document shows that the Pentagon is expected to make a formal acquisition decision around October 2012 on how to proceed.

read more: http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20100309_8124.php

[Captain Hilts]

1. Bigger Bang for the Buck!

[Gman2]

2. WE have already entered a cold war with China.

They will attempt to break us, just as we attempted to break the soviet union. And in doing so, we will break the middle class.

[bigtree]

3. the administration might argue

. . . that they need this 'compromise' to further arms control legislation to forge an agreement with Russia. Interesting that you mention 'cold war'.

[Gman2]

4. Chinese pols are calling for one. They are moving to bury us with the shovels we provided.