The New Arms Race

Nuclear weapons do nothing to protect us from 21st century threats. Yet the US government is planning to spend over $2 trillion during the next 30 years to rebuild its arsenal – plans that could push Russia, China and other countries to build even more nuclear weapons. In short, the world is on the brink of a new nuclear arms race that will only accelerate if current plans stay on track. 

Every dollar spent on re-building our arsenal is a dollar less for our true defense needs. We need to end wasteful nuclear programs and to realign our spending priorities with today’s threats.

Latest News and Analysis on the New Nuclear Arms Race

  • Why Donald Trump's Plan to Be Leader of the Nuclear Pack is Nuts

    In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Donald Trump boasted “if countries are going to have nukes, we’re going to be at the top of the pack.” He then blasted the “one-sided” New START treaty with...

    February 27, 2017 - By Joe Cirincione
  • Watch: Joe Cirincione on Trump’s Latest Nuclear Comments

    Last week, during an interview with Reuters, President Trump said, It would be wonderful, a dream would be that no country would have nukes, but if countries are going to have nukes, we’re going to be at the top of the pack.”  In response, Ploughshares Fund...

    February 25, 2017 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • Video: European Missile Defenses for NATO Debate

    Ploughshares Fund and the Washington, DC-based think tank, Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) have teamed up to launch a new debate series inspired by our report, ‘10 Big...

    February 21, 2017 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • Dr. William J. Perry joins Joe Cirincione and Tom Collina

    "Living at the Nuclear Brink: Yesterday and Today" was a free online course recently offered by William J. Perry, the 19th Secretary of Defense for the United States. The key goals of this course were to warn people of the dangers they face and to give them some insight on what could be done to...

    December 16, 2016 - By Will Lowry
  • Arms Control in the Age of Trump: Lessons from the Nuclear Freeze Movement

    At this very moment, the United States and Russia are locked in a nuclear embrace. Our collective fates — and those of the rest of the world — are entangled in a mesh of ballistic missiles, nuclear submarines, and strategic bombers. Together, the US and Russia control more than 90% of the world’...

    December 14, 2016 - By Anonymous
  • Stop Nuclear War

    The nuclear satchel, pictured above, follows the president wherever he goes. Did you know that for as little as $5/month you can help us in our fight to reduce and eliminate nuclear weapons threats during the Trump administration?

    December 9, 2016 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • Press Pause on Missile Defense in Europe

    The Iran nuclear accord, concluded in July 2015, has fundamentally improved the outlook for European security. Iran is now much less likely to obtain nuclear warheads, and its missile programs are proceeding more slowly than expected. As a result, current US plans to build additional interceptor...

    November 15, 2016 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • Bring Home US Tactical Nuclear Weapons from Europe

    In the United States, anything nuclear is inherently presidential. Any change in nuclear policy requires presidential leadership and sustained engagement. Moreover, decisions to pursue new initiatives must be made early in a new administration, and then executed over a number of years. Coming...

    November 15, 2016 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • Cancel the New Nuclear Cruise Missile

    The Defense Department has proposed to build a new, powerful nuclear cruise missile called the Long-Range Standoff weapon (LRSO). In our opinion, this weapon is unnecessary, incredibly expensive and would move the United States closer to actually using a nuclear weapon — an unthinkable action....

    November 15, 2016 - By Ploughshares Fund
  • Phase Out America’s ICBMs

    Russia and the United States have started rebuilding their Cold War nuclear arsenals, putting us on the threshold of a new and dangerous arms race. But we don’t have to replay this drama. The US plan to rebuild and maintain its nuclear force is needlessly oversized and expensive, expected to...

    November 15, 2016 - By Ploughshares Fund