Can the Pentagon counter China and Russia’s weapons of mass destruction?
Soldiers during a training exercise at Fort Irwin's National Training Center. (Photo: US Army)
The recent advances in military programmes in China, Iran, North Korea and Russia has put US capacity to counter nuclear and biological threats in check.
The global power competition and the improvements in the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) domain have been a growing concern for the Pentagon. Recent advances in military nuclear and biological programmes in China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, as well as the access of non-state actors to new production capabilities, has put in check US capacity to counter weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Speaking during a webinar conducted by the US-based thinktank the Brookings Institution, John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy at the US Department of Defense (DoD) claimed that the country’s opponents have ‘learned from and continued to adapt to
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