China is conducting what a top US military officer called a breathtaking expansion and modernization of its nuclear and conventional forces. An October 2024 Defense Intelligence Agency report estimated that by 2030, “China will have more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads, most of which will be fielded on systems capable of ranging the continental United States.” Meanwhile, Russia maintains the largest foreign nuclear stockpile in the world and is actively modernizing its arsenal to be able to circumvent US missile defenses. North Korea and Iran have been busy improving their ballistic missile inventories, as the latter continues inching closer to a nuclear weapons capability. How can the United States deter these growing threats and protect American lives?
