Defense Under Secretary Heidi Shyu has tasked the Defense Science Board with studying and providing recommendations on how prepared the Defense Department is to survive against and respond to a nuclear attack, according to a letter posted this week.
“Vladimir Putin’s veiled threats to use nuclear weapons in the conflict with Ukraine, for example, have led to questions not only about how to deter the use of nuclear weapons, but also about the ability of United States (U.S.) forces to survive, respond and prevail following another country’s use of nuclear weapons,” Shyu wrote in the letter dated Nov. 19.
North Korea’s nuclear advancement and the potential of Iran’s nuclear program also concern Shyu, she wrote, as they raise the potential of “opportunistic aggression accompanied by small-scale nuclear use in a second or third theater.”
The DSB’s Permanent Subcommittee on Threat Reduction will assess:
- A spectrum of options for adversary nuclear employment including the number of weapons used, yield, employment method and troop exposure.
- DOD directives and governance including the roles and responsibilities of combatant commands.
- Access and maneuverability of the joint force in military and humanitarian response.
- Nuclear survivability of weapon and communications systems and architecture.
- Medical response and operations.
- Coordination with allies and international organizations.
- Technical and operational standards, capabilities and expertise to support the above.
Each service needs to coordinate on its nuclear survivability methods, she wrote, to maintain a balanced joint force.