The Pentagon is drafting a new nuclear strategy aimed at giving President Donald Trump more options for using shorter-range nuclear weapons in a potential regional conflict with China or Russia, according to a report.
The classified effort, led by Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby, would put greater emphasis on tactical nuclear weapons — systems intended for use against military targets in a regional conflict — rather than relying primarily on long-range strategic forces, NBC News reported, citing five people familiar with the plans.
The strategy is designed for scenarios in which China or Russia attacks a U.S. ally and Washington must determine how to respond without immediately escalating to a large-scale strategic nuclear exchange, according to the report.
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"Our view is that we need credible nuclear options," a senior War Department official told NBC. The official said the strategy would "expand the President’s option space by providing him with realistic and credible options and therefore strengthen deterrence."
The reported shift comes as the United States confronts two nuclear-armed adversaries with increasingly capable arsenals.
Russia retains a large stockpile of theater nuclear weapons and has repeatedly invoked its nuclear capabilities during the war in Ukraine. China, meanwhile, is rapidly expanding and modernizing its nuclear forces, creating what U.S. military officials increasingly describe as a two-peer nuclear challenge.
Tactical, or non-strategic, nuclear weapons are generally designed for theater or regional use rather than long-range strategic missions. They often have shorter-range delivery systems and may be intended for military targets.
But the label does not mean they are limited in consequence: a nuclear detonation could kill large numbers of people, spread radioactive fallout and trigger nuclear retaliation.
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The War Department has not publicly announced a change in nuclear employment policy or a new tactical nuclear weapons program. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
The review also comes six months after New START, the last treaty limiting U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear arsenals, expired without a replacement, leaving Washington and Moscow without binding limits or inspections for the first time in decades.
The treaty did not cover tactical nuclear weapons, an area in which Russia holds a substantial numerical advantage. U.S. Strategic Command estimated this year that Moscow possesses up to 2,000 theater nuclear warheads.
Russia has long relied on its non-strategic nuclear arsenal in part to offset NATO’s conventional military strength. China’s growing arsenal is adding a separate challenge for Pentagon planners preparing for the possibility of confronting two nuclear-armed competitors.
Supporters of the Pentagon’s reported shift argue that giving Trump more credible limited-response options could strengthen deterrence by convincing an adversary that Washington has ways to respond short of an all-out strategic exchange.
Critics argue that putting greater emphasis on weapons intended for regional use could lower the threshold for nuclear employment and increase the risk that a limited conflict spirals into a broader nuclear war.
