The Pentagon's plan to develop a new class of missiles could provide important capabilities, but they will come with a hefty price tag, analysts say. In August, the United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which had prohibited the United States and Russia from deploying land-based nuclear or conventional missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers, after Washington accused Moscow of cheating. The Pentagon had already commenced treaty-compliant research-and-development activities that focused on mobile, conventional, ground-launched cruise and ballistic missile systems, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said in a statement. "These programs are in the early stages," he said. "Now that we have withdrawn [from the INF Treaty], the Department of Defense will fully pursue the development of these ground-launched conventional missiles."
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