Does US Really Need Vulnerable Land-Based Nukes?

FRIDAY PDB – As costs soar, Air Force says it “neglected” Sentinel infrastructure. The Pentagon is spending billions of dollars on weapons relevant to yesteryear. One of the biggest offenders is a hive of sitting-duck nuclear weapons in the middle of the country.

The Air Force wants to replace hundreds of aging Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) with the Northrop Grumman-made Sentinel, tipped with the National Nuclear Security Administration's W87-1 warhead.

The initial price tag read $78 billion. But estimates ballooned to $141 billion, or even more without intervention.

Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife says that the only thing more expensive than an effective nuclear arsenal is the lack of one.

He added: “Periodically, we get questions, ‘Why shouldn't we have a dyad?' The national policy is a triad. It's where we're going.”

However, Stephen Young, a senior Washington representative with the Union of Concerned Scientists says, “The fact that it's policy that we have a triad is, indeed, policy, but it's just inherited policy. I think the thinking is old.”

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here's a roundup of today's other top defense stories from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

Not the President's Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL'S DAILY BRIEFING – the PDB:       

NATIONAL SECURITY

US Space Force is urged to flag emerging humanitarian crises on Earth. It should play a greater role in tracking factors related to human security, like food production, climate trends or energy distribution, for military decision-makers, according to RAND Corp.

AI is changing war. We are not ready. The First Matabele War, fought between 1893 and 1894, foretold the future.

HOMELAND SECURITY

Major US military supplier hacked by EvilWeb. Lockheed Martin, a major U.S. defense contractor and arms supplier for the Ukrainian military, has reportedly been targeted by a Russian hacker group in response to reports of the U.S. easing restrictions on Ukraine's use of American-made weapons.

WHAT ABOUT BLM/ANTIFA RIOTERS WHO DID SAME THING? US soldier charged with assaulting police officer during Capitol riot. The man was arrested in Hawaii on charges that he repeatedly struck a police officer with a flagpole.

POLITICS

Trump, Vance, Walz and Harris are all talking about the National Guard. What can (and can't) it actually do? Here's your National Guard primer, from how it differs from the rest of the military to limits state governors — and presidents — have on calling on its troops.

Senators urge National Guard chief nominee to stop cuts at air bases. The bipartisan trio of senators argue that their missions should shield them from top-down attempts to downsize.

The debate's inadvertent Israel lesson. The questions and answers showed everything that's wrong with the way we discuss the Middle East.

Defense spending bills see another surge in unrequested items. Congress has added just over $38 billion for 1,499 military research and procurement programs in fiscal 2025 that the president didn't seek.

JD Vance would consider privatizing some VA services if elected. He also would push for more private-health care options for patients in the system.

ELECTION SPIN? HARD TO BELIEVE – These people have seen Harris in the Situation Room. Here's what they have to say. Harris is “more hardline than most people think,” says a retired four-star general who has briefed her many times.

US POWER OVERSEAS

B-52 bombers fly to and from Poland for exercise with six NATO allies. Two bombers from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, flew to and from Europe, taking part in a training mission along the way with more than two dozen fighters, tankers, and other assets from six other NATO allies over Poland, aimed at sharpening command and control in a contested environment.

Australian lawmaker calls for US Navy SEALs to work, train ‘Down Under.' A former Australian Special Air Service officer now serving in his country's parliament wants SEALs to train local troops to dive from nuclear-powered submarines.

MAJOR BIDEN-HARRIS FAILURE – US looks to West Africa as new hub for counter-terrorism mission after being forced to leave Niger, Chad.

Iraq touts deal with US to withdraw most troops by 2026. US will leave a small residual force in the northern Kurdistan region.

The aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt is leaving the Middle East. The Pentagon's rare move to keep two Navy aircraft carriers in the region over the past several weeks has now finished.

IRAN THREAT

Iran summons 4 European envoys over accusations it supplied ballistic missiles to Russia. They were from Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

CHINA THREAT

US House clears a sweeping, largely bipartisan package, of bills to counter China. This, to ensure America comes out ahead in the competition between the global rivals.

China's secretive space plane has returned to Earth. Its mission? Unknown. Beijing has not said whether the program believed to be linked to its recently landed spacecraft is civilian or military.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

What if Russia resumes nuclear tests? Vladimir Putin is again rattling its nuclear saber. On Sept. 1, it warned of a new nuclear doctrine to counter Western “escalation” in Ukraine. He has hinted that Russia might also resume nuclear testing.

US tanks weren't ready for Russian attacks. Ukraine has a fix. The American-made M1 Abrams is considered one of the world's premier tanks; yet has still proven vulnerable to Russian drones and explosives on the battlefield in Ukraine, which had sidelined the armored behemoth.

Putin ally accuses NATO of leading Ukrainian military in Russia.

RUSSIAN HYBRID WARFARE? Moldovan soldier killed in rare and unclear Transdniestria border incident. He was serving on the line demarcating the separatist Transdniestria region from the former Russian republic in a rare incident more than 30 years after a war pitting the two sides against each other.

NORTH KOREA THREAT

North Korea gives first glimpse of weapons-grade uranium factory. This, as its leader, Kim Jong-un, flaunts his expanding nuclear weapons program ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

UAE to ask Trump to fulfil F-35 deal if he's re-elected. The United Arab Emirates would seek to revive a multi-billion-dollar deal for the stealth warplanes and armed drones if Donald Trump wins a second term.

Jamaican soldiers and police arrive in Haiti to help fight powerful criminal gangs. Two dozen officers and troops join a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenya to fight powerful criminal gangs.

US MILITARY

Navy issues contract to begin USS Nimitz's retirement. The nuke carrier was commissioned in 1975 and is reaching its 50-year life span.

Amid struggle to build subs, Navy gives company running ads and website a $1 billion contract. The company behind “BuildSubmarines.com” has been given a contract by the Navy to promote the expansion of the submarine industrial base.

Marine circles back to Hawaii to command 80,000-strong Pacific force. James Glynn was just a young lieutenant when he and his future wife, Denise, gazed at the beauty of the cloud-catching mountains of central Oahu.

USAF prepares for its 77th birthday with concert at the Air Force Memorial.  Its birthday is on Sept. 18.

Army to expand holistic health and fitness program to all soldiers. The program, which includes professional civilian staffing, workout gear and more, is being expanded to all soldiers rather than only combat brigades.

END of PDB

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