US Plans to Spend Around $138Bln on Upgrades for Nuclear Arsenal by 2049 - Roscongress
00:16 GMT 29.11.2024 (Updated: 03:16 GMT 29.11.2024)
© AP Photo / Charlie Riedel
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MOSCOW, November 29 (Sputnik) - The US plans to spend around $138 billion on the modernization of its nuclear arsenal by 2049, which "in fact" signals the beginning of an arms race, according to a report by the Roscongress Foundation obtained by Sputnik.
"The pace of modernization of the US nuclear arsenal is accelerating. In 2023, the Pentagon received more than 200 upgraded nuclear warheads, the largest annual delivery since the end of the Cold War. The United States plans to spend about $138 billion on nuclear warhead modernization through the Department of Energy between fiscal years 2024 and 2049," the report said.
Another $500 billion is expected to be spent on stockpile management, the foundation said, adding that the number of people employed by the nuclear modernization program has increased by more than 70 percent over the past decade.
21 November, 09:32 GMT
"The implementation of large-scale programs by the US to modernize nuclear warheads, replace nuclear weapons carriers, and increase the production capacity of enterprises for research and development of nuclear weapons in fact opens an arms race with Russia and China," the report said.
As of 2020, the average age of US nuclear warheads was 27.5 years, which is the highest figure for the reported history of Washington's nuclear arsenal, Roscongress also said, adding, however, that since 2020, the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration has not disclosed the age of the stockpiled nuclear munitions.
