The United States Department of Defence has announced that it will pursue a modern variant of the B61 nuclear gravity bomb, designated the B61-13, pending Congressional authorisation and appropriation.
In his Nuclear Posture Review to be released on Tuesday, Obama has however rejected the proposal that the sole purpose of nuclear arms is deterrence.
China is expanding its nuclear force and is likely to have a stockpile of about 1,500 warheads by 2035, up from the current estimated number of 400, the Pentagon has said in a report that notes that Beijing aims to expand its national power through both domestic and foreign policy initiatives.
Even though India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Obama Administration said on Wednesday that New Delhi had a key role to play in strengthening of global nuclear non-proliferation regime.
The United States will not conduct nuclear tests and move to seek the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the Obama administration said today, as it underlined the importance of the NPT to the non-proliferation regime, the two pacts that India has failed to support in its present form.
According to a US State Department factsheet, 'Washington has no specific plans to develop low yield nuclear weapons but the Nuclear Posture Review highlighted the importance of being able to respond to changes in the security environment'.
The strategy, President Donald Trump said, is tailored and flexible to address the wide array of threats in the 21st century.
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