The Heritage Foundation has released a report today calling for the United States to diversify its nuclear arsenal by adding more Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines and introducing a road-mobile variant of the forthcoming Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). According to the conservative think tank, these adjustments to the U.S. nuclear posture could potentially raise the nuclear weapons budget—currently accounting for about six percent of defense spending—by an additional one to two percent.
Robert Peters, a Heritage fellow specializing in nuclear deterrence and the report’s author, explained during a release event that this increase translates to an additional $8 billion to $16 billion. He suggested that reprogramming various allocations within the Department of Defense (DoD) budget could help achieve this funding.
The report argues that these „modest” expansions in strategic nuclear weapons, along with greater investments in nonstrategic options, are essential to deter the dual threats posed by China and Russia. Both nations are reportedly investing in enhancing their nuclear arsenals with the goal of achieving parity—or potentially superiority—over U.S. capabilities.
Notably, the report’s significance lies not only in its recommendations but also in its origin. The Heritage Foundation has positioned itself as a leading policy source for a potential future Trump administration, particularly through its involvement in Project 2025, a conservative framework for the next presidential term crafted by former officials from Trump’s tenure.
The think tank explicitly acknowledges these connections by labeling the report a „draft Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) for a 2025 presidential administration,” although it refrains from naming Trump or any specific candidate. Typically, a new administration takes over a year to create and unveil an NPR, with the latest iterations published in 2022 and 2018. The Heritage report encourages accelerating this process, urging the future administration to produce a draft NPR within 12 weeks after the inauguration in 2025.
“Given the urgency of the issues at hand and the critical need to establish a credible deterrent in light of the deteriorating security landscape, the next administration cannot afford to spend almost a year drafting an NPR,” the report emphasizes.
New Delivery Systems and Diversification
The report advocates for a series of nuclear weapon and delivery system enhancements aimed at achieving a more geographically distributed posture outside the traditional nuclear triad.
Key recommendations include increasing the Columbia-class ballistic submarine program from 12 to 16 vessels and modifying all Columbia-class hulls from the seventh onward to accommodate eight additional missiles. The report contends that this expansion is crucial not only to adapt to an unpredictable 21st-century security landscape but also to effectively deter two nuclear peers by the 2030s.
Another significant proposal involves deploying road-mobile Sentinel ICBMs as a safeguard against potential future technological advancements that might expose Columbia-class submarines to detection.
The report suggests maintaining a modest number of road-mobile Sentinels, stationed permanently at established bases and operating on preapproved routes in relatively unpopulated areas within the U.S. “The Air Force will design and deploy vertical erector launchers mounted on heavy trucks capable of carrying and launching the Sentinel ICBM or modified versions as necessary,” the report states, with each Sentinel to be armed with up to three warheads.
In addition to broader program changes, the report calls for a more varied range of tactical nuclear weapons, including nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles, anti-ship nuclear systems, and ground-based intermediate-range nuclear weapons that could be forward-deployed in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
“As part of this effort, the United States and its allies will collaborate on updating America’s force posture, which may involve stationing additional U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe and introducing them to the Western Pacific, potentially including dual-capable aircraft (DCA) loaded with American non-strategic nuclear weapons,” the report outlines.
During the rollout event, Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces subcommittee, emphasized the urgency of modernizing the aging nuclear enterprise, labeling it an “existential issue.” While she did not comment specifically on the report’s recommended changes, she affirmed the importance of nuclear modernization and the need for the Defense Department to expedite its efforts.
“What we all need to keep in mind is that times have changed. We face not just one peer adversary anymore. Now we have two, and that number could increase,” she said.
