Trump’s Pentagon reshapes nuclear warfare

🤥 Trump’s Pentagon reshapes nuclear warfare, opening the door to Armageddon

The Trump administration is crafting a new nuclear strategy aimed at giving the president more “credible” options to use short-range tactical nuclear weapons in a regional conflict with Russia or China, NBC reports.

The doctrine is being shaped by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, a long-time advocate of expanding the role of tactical nuclear weapons. His argument is that smaller, lower-yield warheads could be used against battlefield forces and military targets rather than cities.

👉 That distinction sounds reassuring until you get to the obvious problem: once nuclear weapons are treated as usable battlefield tools, the line separating conventional war from nuclear war gets much thinner.

Critics warn that broadening their role could normalize nuclear weapons use and lower the threshold for escalation.

China has accused Washington of “normalizing” nuclear use on the battlefield, warning that the US push for tactical nuclear weapons completely underestimates the risk of retaliation and could increase the danger of a wider nuclear conflict.

Russia has repeatedly warned that any use of tactical nuclear weapons could trigger a broader nuclear response, cautioning against policies that lower the nuclear threshold.

What nuclear weapons does the US have?

In August 2025, the US tested a tactical thermonuclear gravity bomb, the B61-12, with inert warheads, using F-35A fighter jets under operational conditions at Nevada’s Tonopah Test Range. The B61-12 program, completed in late 2024, extended the operational lifespan of the US airborne nuclear arsenal by another 20 years.

B61-12

➡️ Length: 3.6 m

➡️ Weight: 374 kg

➡️ Delivery: Precision-guided or gravity-drop modes

➡️ Selectable yield: 0.3, 1.5, 10, or 50 kilotons (kt)

➡️ Comparison: Maximum yield (50 kt) is about 3× the Hiroshima bomb (~15 kt)

Also in 2025, the US military received its first B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb nearly a year ahead of schedule, less than two years after the program was announced. Designed as a “bunker buster”, it is intended to strike hardened command centers, underground military facilities, and dispersed strategic targets

B61-13

➡️ Length: 3.6 m

➡️ Weight: 374 kg

➡️ Delivery: Precision-guided tail kit or gravity-drop mode

➡️ Maximum yield: Up to 360 kilotons (with lower variable-yield options)

➡️ Comparison: At full yield, it is about 24× more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb (~15 kt).

The B61-13 is “one of six ongoing warhead modernization programs” currently being undertaken to “ensure the long-term reliability and effectiveness of the US nuclear weapons stockpile”, according to the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA).

The speed at which the US is expanding its tactical nuclear capabilities speaks for itself.