By Dr. Michiru Nishida 

Today, the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) is releasing a new briefer exploring whether U.S. nuclear sea-launched cruise missiles are necessary based on an analysis from the Japanese security perspective. As the briefer states:

“In 2021 and the first months of 2022, the Biden administration has been in the process of conducting the fourth U.S. post-Cold War Nuclear Posture Review (NPR). One of the several focal points has been the treatment of nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs) given that reviving these weapons was proposed by the Trump administration in its 2018 NPR…This paper discusses whether there is a need for nuclear-armed SLCMs from the perspective of Japan’s national security, and concludes that they are not a necessary addition to the U.S. nuclear posture.

Read the full analysis here.