Forced Into the Right Decision? A Look at U.S. Land-Based Deterrence Posture

In 2019, Dr. Steve Fetter wrote “ A Cheaper Nuclear Sponge,” in which he argued that building a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was unnecessary for strengthening U.S. land-based deterrence. After several years of changing defense budgets and strategic priorities, Fetter revisits these arguments in a new piece for War on the Rocks entitled, "Forced Into the Right Decision? A Look at U.S. LandBased Deterrence Posture." In the piece he reflects on what the subsequent new ballistic missile program's trajectory looks like relative to his earlier expectations, the implications of China's nuclear buildup and the second Trump administration's priorities, and debates over whether the Minuteman III could be sustained past its planned retirement in the 2030s, among other topics.