U.S. admits having "profound weaknesses" in its nuclear arsenal

The U.S. nuclear arsenal has profound weaknesses, Former Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General Jack Keane said.

"We have to modernize our nuclear arsenal, is in-and-of-itself a deterrence, and not give our adversaries  to take advantage of us, because they see weaknesses in our nuclear arsenals, And we have serious weaknesses in ours," Fox News cited him as saying.

Keane stressed that America is lagging behind Russia in modernizing this type of weapons, despite the fact that, according to the New START, the volumes of the countries' arsenals coincide. The general drew attention to the fact that Moscow is already completing a ten-year program to modernize their nuclear weapons, while Washington is behind in that.

The former deputy chief of staff believes that the United States has to bring its arsenal up to a standard that Russia and China see as "credible."

The general stated that the U.S. is lagging behind Russia and China also in the means intended for a non-nuclear conflict. In particular, he noted, Washington needs to increase the number of land-based and anti-ship offensive missiles, it should not be forgotten about the modernization of conventional weapons, and if this is not done, then the losing side, that is, the United States, can escalate the usual conflict to the nuclear level, which would be "horrific".

Keane emphasized that the modernization of these weapons of war is urgent, and manageable if you focus on this issue.

The Pentagon needs to reboot its combat capabilities to adjust to the changed situation, he concluded.