August 09, 2016
The nuclear mission must stay manned
A lot of things can and should be automated—but nuclear bombers are not one of them.
Unfortunately, it’s not clear that Moscow agrees.Reports surfaced in July that Russia has begun development of a hypersonic nuclear bomber that can deliver nuclear strikes from outer space. Unnamed officials quoted in the semi-official Russian news organPravda say that the bomber will have an unmanned variant. Their statement has not been confirmed, but the idea that Russia would pursue an unmanned nuclear bomber is not new. The commander of Russia’s long-range aviation fleet, Lt. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, stated in 2012 that Russia was considering developing a “pilotless” sixth-generation nuclear bomber.
To read the full article, visit The Bulletin's website.
More from CNAS
-
Stock Buybacks in Defense: What Drives Them, and How That Can Change?
Lack of capital is not a problem hindering investment at the largest defense primes. The issue revolves around the capital allocation decision....
By Mikhail Grinberg, Jerry McGinn & Lloyd Everhart
-
Ukrainian president has stark new warning as war rages on
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns that Ukraine will lose the war with Russia without US assistance. Franz-Stefan Gady of CNAS explains why US military aid is crucia...
By Franz-Stefan Gady
-
Sharper: Maritime Security
The importance of securing the maritime domain is rapidly increasing. From the South China Sea to the Red Sea, the U.S. and its allies are experiencing escalating challenges t...
By Anna Pederson & Charles Horn
-
Innovation Adoption for All: Scaling across Department of Defense
The Department of Defense does act quickly when properly motivated and catalyzed by effective leadership....
By Robert O. Work, Michael Brown & Ellen Lord