US STRATCOM boss Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton said there are positive side effects to rehabilitating the nuclear warhead arsenal. (See above) He proposes making the warheads physically larger than those now in the inventory and of such a design that they would be doubly hard for a terrorist to steal and, if stolen, wouldn’t work. Also, if the US fails to maintain the credibility of its nuclear forces, those under the US nuclear umbrella who have never built their own such weapons, such as Japan, might feel compelled to do so. Rebuilding a warhead-making capability thus discourages proliferation, Chilton asserted during AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando.
Since President Donald Trump first unveiled his “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative in late January, much of the focus for it has been focused on space—how the Pentagon may deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of sensors and interceptors into orbit to protect the continental U.S. from missile barrages. But the Air…