And for practical purposes, after the first few, they quickly grow redundant. Likewise, the absence of a nuclear attack on the United States doesnвЂ™t prove that 3,800 warheads are essential to deterrence. This argument relies on the same faulty logic Ernie used when he told Bert he had a banana in his ear to keep the alligators away: The absence of alligators doesnвЂ™t prove the banana worked. Many consider American deterrence a success, pointing to the fact that no country has ever attacked the United States with nuclear weapons. It relays to the enemy that US retaliation would be so awful, it had better not attack in the first place. Under the theory of deterrence, AmericaвЂ™s nuclear arsenal-currently made up of 3,800 warheads-sends a message to other nuclear-armed countries.

They are also intended to deter such attacks, and serve as targets in case there is one. The official purpose of American ICBMs goes beyond responding to nuclear assault. Like its predecessors, the GBSD fleet will be lodged in underground silos, widely scattered in three groups known as вЂњwingsвЂќ across five states. For now, though, the missile goes by the inglorious acronym GBSD, for вЂњground-based strategic deterrent.вЂќ The GBSD is designed to replace the existing fleet of Minuteman III missiles both are intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs. One day soon, the Air Force will christen this new war machine with its вЂњpopularвЂќ name, likely some word that projects goodness and strength, in keeping with past nuclear missiles like the Atlas, Titan, and Peacekeeper. To put that price tag in perspective, $100 billion could pay 1.24 million elementary school teacher salaries for a year, provide 2.84 million four-year university scholarships, or cover 3.3 million hospital stays for covid-19 patients.В ItвЂ™s enough to build a massive mechanical wall to protect New York City from sea level rise. Based on a Pentagon report cited by the Arms Control Association Association and Bloomberg News,В the government will spend roughly $100 billion to build the weapon, which will be ready to use around 2029. On September 8, the Air Force gave the defense company Northrop Grumman an initial contract of $13.3 billion to begin engineering and manufacturing the missile, but that will be just a fraction of the total bill. The US Air Force plans to order more than 600 of them. It will be able to kill hundreds of thousands of people in a single shot. It will be able to travel some 6,000 miles, carrying a warhead more than 20 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. America is building a new weapon of mass destruction, a nuclear missile the length of a bowling lane.

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