A top National Security Council official said Friday at an Arms Control Association conference the United States will need to employ a more assertive nuclear strategy in light of the posture being taken by Russia and China.
In a separate speech at the same event, House Armed Services Committee member, Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), said he aims to push his amendments to limit Sentinels at this week’s markup of the National Defense Authorization Act in the Senate.
Pranay Vaddi, special assistant to President Joe Biden and senior director for arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation at the National Security Council, told the gathering in Washington, D.C. that the administration may need to deploy more weapons to deter growing threats. Vaddi said in his speech modifications are needed given the trajectory of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran’s nuclear strategy and arsenal. The collaboration and technology sharing between these nations is also a concern, he added.
“Absent a change in the trajectory of adversary arsenals, we may reach a point in the coming years where an increase from current deployed numbers is required,” Vaddi said. “If that day does come, it will result from a determination that more nuclear weapons are required to deter our adversaries and protect the American people and our allies and partners.”
While Vaddi did not yet outline what this new approach would look like, he gave the examples of pursuing the B61-13 gravity bomb for additional capability, and extending the life of Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, as “qualitative improvements.” Both, he says, would “enhance deterrence without increasing overall numbers.”
However, Vaddi said any U.S. nuclear weapons would be reserved for deterring an attack, not starting one.
“If [Russia and China] are unwilling to follow, and instead take steps to increase the salience of nuclear weapons,” Vaddi said, “we will have no choice but to adjust our posture and capabilities to preserve deterrence and stability.”
Meanwhile, Garamendi said the U.S. needs to reduce nuclear weapons spending instead. He referred to the amendments he proposed at the House markup of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) changing the number requirements for both Sentinels and plutonium pits.
“My simple, straightforward amendment would change the current law requiring 80 pits per year to a lower number that represents the realistic number of plutonium pits our country needs and can feasibly produce,” Garamendi said. “To some, this is seen as an ‘extreme radical position,’ and my proposal was voted down.”
