For more than five decades, the forces of America's nuclear triad have prevented the use of nuclear weapons. Today, however, the average age of aircraft in the air leg is about 50 years, the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile is also approaching 50, and the Navy's Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines are approaching 40 years in service. Urgency is building among policymakers and in Congress to modernize these systems and sustain the nuclear triad. At the same time, Russia and China are actively fielding new nuclear-capable systems-including new land-based strategic missiles, ballistic missile submarines, sea-based strategic missiles, and improved air-launched nuclear weapons, along with tactical nuclear weapons.
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