U.S. President-elect Donald Trump called on Thursday for the country to expand its nuclear weapons capabilities until the world “comes to its senses” — a signal he may support costly efforts to modernise the ageing U.S. nuclear arsenal.
His comments came on a day Russian President Vladimir Putin called for his country to reinforce its military nuclear potential.
“We need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with missile complexes that can reliably penetrate any existing and prospective missile defence systems,” the Russian leader said, adding: “We must carefully monitor any changes in the balance of power and in the political-military situation in the world, especially along Russian borders, and quickly adapt plans for neutralising threats to our country.”
Expensive affair
During the next decade, U.S. ballistic missile submarines,bombers, and land-based missiles — the three legs of the nuclear triad - are expected to reach the end of their useful lives. Maintaining and modernising the arsenal is expected to cost about $1 trillion dollars over 30 years, according to independent estimates.
“The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes,” Mr. Trump tweeted.
Mr. Trump gave no details about what prompted his tweet. Representatives for his transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Defence stocks changed little after Mr. Trump’s tweet, but shares of small uranium miners including Uranium Resources Inc and Uranium Energy Corp rose sharply.
Shoring up defences
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, meanwhile, said that next year four additional S-400 anti-missile defence systems will be delivered to the army, and Russia would pay particular attention to its Western flank and the Arctic. “We will continue to increase military capabilities... take measures to reinforce troops in the western, southwestern and Arctic strategic sectors,” he added. — Reuters & AFP
