WASHINGTON - The U.S. military has deployed a new addition to its nuclear arsenal — a long-range missile armed with a nuclear warhead of reduced destructive power. The debut deployment aboard long-range submarines, known as boomers, is a landmark in U.S. nuclear weapons policy. The essence of critics’ argument against the low-yield weapon is that it makes the world less safe because it offers decision-makers another option for using a nuclear weapon in a conflict that could then escalate to a full-blown nuclear war. They also contend that lower-yield air-launched nuclear weapons already in the U.S. arsenal make the W76-2 redundant. It is the only remaining treaty limiting the number of U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear weapons.

Source: thestar February 04, 2020 07:07 UTC