US plans greatest nuclear weapons spending spike since Cold War
(MENAFN) The U.S. is poised to dramatically increase spending on nuclear weapons development, marking the largest surge in such funding since the Cold War, according to the Los Alamos Study Group, a nuclear disarmament advocacy organization.
Drawing on the latest technical supplement to the fiscal budget and recent congressional testimony, the group reported that the Biden administration has proposed $4.782 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) “Weapons Activities” in the upcoming fiscal year. This agency is responsible for the development, modernization, and maintenance of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Additionally, an earlier $1.884 billion allocation from fiscal year 2025 – intended for hurricane-related damage to NNSA infrastructure – remains unspent. Whether or not this amount is included in the calculation significantly impacts the scale of the increase. Without it, the proposed 2026 budget reflects a 25% jump over the previous year, the largest since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. With it included, the increase still stands at 17%, the steepest rise since 1982.
The budget proposal is expected to be debated and voted on by Congress later this year.
In a related development, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced in May that the NNSA has completed production of the first B61-13 gravity bomb ahead of schedule. This advanced version of the long-serving B61 bomb series includes updated electronics and a guidance system, allowing for greater accuracy. It boasts a maximum yield of 360 kilotons – 24 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb – and is designed for use against fortified underground targets.
The B61-13 is expected to become one of the most powerful gravity bombs in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Six more modifications to the B61 family are reportedly in various stages of development, raising further concerns among arms control advocates about the potential escalation of a new nuclear arms race.
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