Nuclear Reset - Program on Strategic Stability Evaluation (POSSE)

Chapter 2. The Modern Arsenals of <strong>Nuclear</strong> States59plans to slash its aviation component in half, which would reducethe numbers of its strategic nuclear forces to about 100 deliveryvehicles and 250 warheads.With its relatively small nuclear potential, France openly stressesits reliance on a distinctly offensive nuclear strategy, one that includesthe first-strike option and the use of either massive or limitedforce against traditional opponents and “rogue states,” and, morerecently, even China (the new extended range SLBM is being createdwith these very missions in mind.)At the same time, to be fair, it must be noted that France is alsothe only country in history to have unilaterally destroyed all of itsland-based missiles: both the medium range Pluton missiles andthe short-range Hades systems. France has also lowered the alert statusof its Strike Forces, although details remain vague. France stoppedproducing uranium in 1992 and plutonium in 1994. It has also dismantledits fissile material production facilities (and invited foreignobservers to verify this) and closed its nuclear test site in Polynesia.France has further announced a one-third cut in its nuclear arsenaland introduced a ceiling of 300 nuclear warheads for its entire nuclearforces.Great Britain is more open about its nuclear posture. Its first nuclearweapon was tested in 1952. Currently, British thermonuclearwarheads have yields of around 100 kilotons. Great Britain mightalso have some sub-kiloton warheads.The country’s strategic forces comprise four Vanguard class submarinescarrying 48 U.S.-made Trident II SLBMs, and 140 Britishmadenuclear warheads. The British SLBMs are intended for justthree of the submarines, since the fourth is under maintenanceat any given moment, just as in France. Great Britain also has 10reserve missiles and 40 warheads in storage. There have been unofficialreports suggesting that some of the SLBMs carry a single smallwarhead and are targeted at “rogue states.” Great Britain has noother nuclear forces.After some heated debate, in the middle of the present decadethe British decided to design a new class of SLBM for the plannedpurchase of a modified U.S. Trident II missile. Great Britain alsomade plans to develop a new class of nuclear warheads after 2024(the slated retirement date of the Vanguard submarines). It is entirelypossible that the pace of nuclear cuts undertaken by the UnitedStates and Russia under the New START and any subsequent agree-