The U.S. Nuclear Triad

GAO's Evaluation of the Strategic Modernization Program Gao ID: T-PEMD-93-5 June 10, 1993

Evidence from eight classified GAO reports assessing weapon system upgrades suggests that the sea leg is the strongest, most cost-effective component of the U.S. strategic triad. In the case of the air leg, strategic bombers add a critically important stabilizing character to the overall nuclear force, both because they are recallable--unlike missiles--and because they are virtually incapable of making a surprise attack. Yet the secret Pentagon studies used to justify the principal weapon system upgrades of the 1970s and 1980s reveal a disturbing lack of hard data on whether the proposed systems were justified in terms of the threat they faced, their performance compared with other systems, and their relative costs.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Team: Phone:


The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.