U.S. authorities are advancing the development of a new air-delivered nuclear deterrent system, NDS-A, designed to strike hardened and deeply buried targets.
According to The War Zone, approximately $100 million has been requested for the initial phase of the program in the budget.
According to the publication, a new line item has appeared in the Department of Energy's budget request for the fiscal year 2027 under the section "Weapons Work for Future Programs." The agency is requesting nearly $100 million for initial work to launch a new program called NDS-A (Nuclear Deterrent System Air-delivered).
It is not yet officially known whether NDS-A will be an upgraded version of existing nuclear munitions or a completely new system.
"The air-based nuclear deterrent system will provide the president with additional nuclear capabilities to strike hardened and deeply buried targets, ensuring that adversaries cannot hide their most valuable assets beyond the reach of America's nuclear forces," an unnamed representative of the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration stated to the publication.
The initiative is linked to the increasing number of protected underground facilities in Russia, China, and other countries. However, the future of the project remains uncertain: amid already significant expenditures on modernizing nuclear forces, it may become a subject of serious political disputes within the U.S.
