The United States will spend nearly $1 trillion between 2025 and 2034 to operate, maintain and modernize its nuclear arsenal, according to a report by the Congressional Budget Office, cited by Axios.
The estimated annual cost is about $95 billion, an amount that exceeds the budget of many federal agencies.
The report highlights the growing cost of nuclear deterrence, which accounts for nearly 12% of the Defense Department's planned spending on weapons acquisition over the next decade.
According to Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, these "skyrocketing" costs divert resources from "other more pressing human needs and national security priorities".
The nuclear plans of the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy include a massive modernization of the triad - intercontinental ballistic missiles, strategic bombers and nuclear submarines. Key projects are the Sentinel, B-21 Raider and the "Columbia" class submarines.
Despite the ambitious plans, critics say the modernization is hampered by aging infrastructure and a lack of capacity.
"The enormous costs outlined in this report were not anticipated at the beginning of the nuclear modernization program," said Greg Mello, director of the Los Alamos Research Group.
J.C. Btaich, founder of the private company Fuse, believes that the nuclear arsenal can be maintained more effectively by collaborating with the private sector. Fuse is aiming to become the "new Secretary of Nuclear Security", with former National Nuclear Security Administration chief Lisa Gordon-Haggerty and Admiral Charles Richard among its advisers.
"The current trend will only continue to drive up costs and delay deadlines," Btaich warns. "We need to explore more efficient governance if we are to ensure national security."