CBO Releases New Triad Upgrade Estimate.

The United States will have to spend USD348 billion on nuclear weapons modernisation over the next 10 years if it wants to maintain a triad of nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarines, and bomber aircraft, according to a 22 January report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

CBO Releases New Triad Upgrade Estimate.

All three legs of the triad "are reaching the end of their service lifetimes," the CBO warned. "Over the next two decades, the Congress will need to make decisions about the extent to which essentially all of the US nuclear delivery systems and weapons will be modernised or replaced with new systems."

The figure is slightly lower than the agency's last estimate, released in late 2013, of USD355 billion. CBO attributed this year's lower number to "budget-driven delays in several programs, including a three-year delay for the new cruise missile and its nuclear warhead".

However, this year's estimate for the Department of Defense's (DoD's) portion of that figure has increased by 3% to USD227 billion, while the Department of Energy's portion has decreased slightly. Further, the DoD's estimated bill for modernisation is still approximately 5-6% of the Pentagon's expected budget over the next decade.