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1 [1] (March 24, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govelaj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service inf~rming the legislative debate since 1914 S March 24, 2023 2022 Nuclear Posture Review: Selected Programmatic Issues Background The unclassified 2022 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), a legislatively mandated document (10 U.S.C., Ch. 24), describes the Biden Administration's plans to continue to modernize U.S. nuclear forces and infrastructure. That modernization process began under the Obama and Trump Administrations. The NPR reaffirms the continued deployment of nuclear warheads deliverable by a triad of aircraft and land- and submarine-based missiles. Proposed policy changes include cancelation of the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) and retirement of the B83-1 gravity bomb. The NPR also outlines the Administration's plans for revitalizing the U.S. nuclear weapons complex and delivery systems industrial base. Conceptual Changes and Updates The 2022 NPR introduces a country-specific approach to deterrence, in which nuclear weapons capabilities further strengthen regional deterrence and assure allies. The NPR does not specify whether a country-specific approach would require additional modifications to the program of record, which is the official nuclear acquisition plan. See CRS In Focus IF12266, 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, for greater detail on NPR policy changes. The NPR also calls for integrated deterrence, which entails seamless work across all instruments of U.S. national power to incentivize restraint for opponents. This aligns with the 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS), the broader strategy document of which the NPR is a part. The NDS calls for the United States to employ tailored deterrence approaches, but does not explain this concept in detail, according to some critics, including former Trump and Obama Administration officials. Program Cancellations 83-1 Gravity Bo b Retirerent The United States originally deployed the B83-1 gravity bomb during the 1980s for use against hard and deeply buried targets (HDBTs, e.g., underground bunkers), and it remains the largest-yield bomb in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The 2022 NPR found that the B83-1 has increasing limitations on its capabilities and rising maintenance costs. Department of Defense (DOD) leadership called for a follow-on study, which began in late 2022, of methods for managing potential future threats that have been targeted with HDBT. Nuckear-Armed SLCM Cancellation The 2018 NPR directed DOD to develop a modern nuclear- capable sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N), stating a need for a nuclear weapon that could provide a non- strategic regional presence, without reference to any specific region, and an arms control-compliant response to destabilizing Russian behaviors. The Navy started its Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) for such a program in 2019. The 2022 NPR, which supersedes the guidance from the 2018 NPR, announced the program's cancellation, asserting that the SLCM-N was no longer necessary, given the existence of the low-yield W76-2 warhead, uncertainty about leverage it could provide in arms control negotiation, and cost. In its FY2023 budget request, the Navy eliminated research and development funding for the SLCM-N, indicating that the program was cost prohibitive and the acquisition schedule would have delivered capability late to need. According to Navy FY2023 budget documents, this cancellation would save $199.2 million in FY2023 and $2.1 billion over the next five years. Triad Modernization Since the end of the Cold War, DOD and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have focused on life extension programs (LEPs), including sustainment of and improvements to existing weapons or delivery systems instead of making new capabilities. The 2022 NPR argues that most of the U.S. nuclear deterrent systems are operating beyond their original design life and full- scope replacement of the triad, including nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) systems. The 2022 NPR emphasizes a limited window for deploying replacements for many current nuclear capabilities to avoid any gaps in our ability to field a credible and effective deterrent. The 2022 NPR endorses the following programs, as reflected in the FY2023 President's Defense Budget Request: * Full funding for the Sentinel ICBM replacement program, which would replace the Minuteman III and maintain 400 ICBMs on alert. Sentinel will field the W87-0/Mk21 and W87-1/Mk21A replacement warhead and reentry vehicle (RV); * Full funding for Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, including the delivery of a minimum of 12 boats beginning in 2030. The NPR also calls for near- term investments in the submarine construction industrial base. In addition, the review recommends that DOD prioritize near-term investment in the Trident II D5 Strategic Weapons System second life extension and continue the W93/Mk7 replacement warhead and aeroshell program;

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