The current situation is that no matter what the United States wants to do, the key words between the lines of the reports sent to Congress are "China". No, four-star general Anthony Cotton, nominated as the command of the US Air Force Global Strike Command, recently told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the United States must take China's "nuclear deterrence constituted." At the same time, Cotton also said that China's nuclear capabilities need to be reassessed now, because China and Russia may reach cooperation on nuclear weapons .
According to relevant reports, Admiral Cotton said that the assessment needs to cover two aspects, one is "how the two may work together" in the crisis, and the other is "how they cannot work together." And doing this assessment will play a key role in understanding the “what needs to be done” in force shaping, future security and nuclear strategies and the role that the command plays in implementing these strategies.
Notably, Cotton warned that Russia has said it can use a limited nuclear weapon to "take over Ukraine." As for China, Cotton said that since four years ago, the United States' assessment of China's nuclear capabilities has undergone earth-shaking changes. Specifically, China's previous development in nuclear weapons was only "minimum nuclear deterrence", focusing on building "regional nuclear deterrence". However, the current situation in China has changed, and China's nuclear arsenal "is expanding at an astonishing rate." In addition, Cotton said at the hearing that China now has the real nuclear trinity strike capability, which means that the PLA has nuclear weapons for combat, whether at sea, on the road, or in the air.
Based on this, the four-star general believes that the United States now has to weigh the strategic weapon threats from multiple countries. So, Cotton then added that the United States "rolled up its sleeves" to meet the challenges of modernization and faced two nearly equal competitors, China and Russia. As for how to "roll up your sleeves", Cotton believes that "stable and predictable funds from Congress and the government" are needed, and that the same stability and predictability are needed in the comprehensive definition of nuclear program requirements.
By the way, in addition to supporting the modernization of all branches of the Triad, Cotton also believes that the service life of some ships of Ohio will be extended from 30 years to 42 years. At the same time, Cotton also supports continuing to develop long-range out-of-zone cruise missiles for the Air Force bomber fleet and open the door to nuclear long-range sea-based cruise missiles. The most important thing is that Cotton intends to lead the command center of its opponents in the fields of electromagnetic warfare and spectrum warfare. Finally, Cotton said that the operating and maintenance costs of the US strategic strike force are constantly increasing. Parts that could be purchased in 10 days now take 90 days. Therefore, in order to reduce the procurement cycle, the US Congress needs to increase emergency procurement costs.
Speaking of this, everyone understands that Cotton said that such a big call had elevated China to the position of a counterparty. In fact, he had his own "little nines" in his heart. Mainly, we think there are two aspects. One is that after a senior US official is nominated, in order to increase the probability of formal appointment, he will infinitely amplify his tough attitude towards China. Previously, it was mentioned that Salzman, who was evaluated as the highest commander of the US Space Force , was the case, and so was Admiral Cotton. On the other hand, exaggerating the so-called "China threat theory", while launching a public opinion war against China, while using this as an excuse to ask Congress for money.
Honestly, you are the US Air Force, Navy, Army, Marine Corps , Space Force , Strategic Strike Forces ask Congress for money, this has nothing to do with China. But this is always the case, we are immune. The American congressional men are probably one of them. Finally, what we want to say is that when it comes to nuclear weapons, this four-star general must first look at his own family, but don’t “only state officials are allowed to set fires, and people are not allowed to light the lamps”.
