How Long Does U.S. Need Nukes? At Least 40 Years, General Says

As the Obama administration conducts several key reviews of the country's nuclear arsenal, a top military general said he believes the United States will need nuclear weapons for at least several more decades.

"Will we still need nuclear weapons 40 years from now?" Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, the head of U.S. Strategic Command, asked at a talk on Capitol Hill today. "I believe the answer to that question is yes."

The statement is one of the clearest time lines a military official has placed on the future of nuclear weapons, though Chilton was also quick to point out that his views were consistent with President Barack Obama's vision of "a world without nuclear weapons."

Obama had, as Chilton emphasized, added one important caveat: Nuclear disarmament wouldn't happen within his lifetime.

Though no one expects nuclear weapons to go away overnight, the Obama administration is in the middle of reviews that could shape the size and role of the future nuclear arsenal. Nuclear strategy is being re-examined as part of the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review and Nuclear Posture Review. And the United States and Russia are in the midst of talks on a new arms control pact.

But even with those reviews and negotiations ongoing, Chilton says he believes the United States must begin now to think about replacing aging elements of the nuclear triad -- the bombers, land-based missiles and ballistic missile submarines that are capable of carrying out a nuclear strike.

The Pentagon has already started to look at a replacement for the Trident strategic missile submarine, and Chilton said it may also be time over the next year or two to start looking at what will follow the Minuteman III, the land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles that remain on 24-hour alert. Those missiles are expected to last until 2030.

Strategic bombers as well may need to be replaced. "Look how old the B-52 is," Chilton said. "The B-2 is no spring chicken either."