Worrying growth in the global nuclear weapons market

According to a forecast of the market research company Allied Market Research, based in Oregon (USA), in the next 10 years, the rocket and missile market will nuclear bomb The global market will exceed USD 126 billion, which is an increase of nearly 73% compared to the time of 2020.

The increase of global geopolitical conflicts, especially in Eastern Europe, and the increase in defense spending by countries will lead to an expansion of the market, the report said. nuclear weapons at an average rate of 5.4% annually between now and 2030.

Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, said: “We also see a worrying trend with all nuclear-weapon states. The UK has announced an increase in nuclear weapons. 40% of its nuclear arsenal, while China has also increased its nuclear arsenal.

The report also forecasts, demand nuclear warheads small types that can be deployed via aircraft, surface-to-air missiles will also increase rapidly. In addition, the nuclear weapons market is expected to grow fastest in the Asia-Pacific region, while North America used to account for more than half of the global market in 2020.

“As nations continue to modernize their arsenals, the nuclear threat has reached levels not seen in nearly forty years,” said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Ready-to-fire weapons account for more than two-thirds of the global nuclear weapons market in 2020, as countries increase investment in nuclear arsenals and increase purchases of warheads. new.

An updated content in last week’s report is that the world’s two leading nuclear powers, Russia and the United States, are both consolidating their nuclear arsenals. According to the data of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Russia and the US hold more than 90% of the world’s arsenal, and their every move is remarkable.

The US modernizes its nuclear arsenal

The defense budget that the President of the United States proposes to Congress to approve in 2023 stands at more than $773 billion, up 4% from this year, with the goal of modernizing the military, including plans to continue invest in research and development, localize the strategic nuclear triad.

The strategic nuclear triad includes ballistic missile submarines, bombers, and surface-to-air missiles. These expenditures include nearly $35 billion for nuclear businesses, more than $6 billion for Columbia-class submarines, $5 billion for B21 bombers, and $3.6 billion for intercontinental ballistic missiles next generation and $4.8 billion for nuclear command and control systems.

US President Biden hailed this plan as one of the largest investments in America’s national security, to ensure that the US military is best prepared and equipped.

The US Department of Defense prepares this budget plan in January, which is before the conflict in Ukraine, so this spending plan will likely continue to be updated, supplemented and increased to meet the needs of customers. with new developments in the world situation.

Russia denies using nuclear weapons

On the Russian side, in the current conflict in Ukraine, President Putin once put Russia’s nuclear forces on the highest combat readiness. However, in the latest statement, Russian officials at the UN denied the possibility of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

In fact, Moscow has given a message about its security policy, according to which nuclear weapons can be used in response to the very use of nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction against Russia. and Russia’s allies, or when there is a real threat to the very existence of the country. And as stated by the Russian representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy, these criteria cannot be applied to the situation in Ukraine and the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons here is said to be unfounded.

Although Russian President Putin himself has previously put the nuclear force on the highest state of combat readiness, analysts still say that so far, Russia’s actions seem to be consistent with what has been reported. What it says about the role of nuclear weapons in a conflict like the one in Ukraine: It’s to prevent it from escalating into a larger war. For Russia, this is still a special military operation to achieve military-political goals.

In other words, Russia’s nuclear warnings are intended to prevent a local conflict from escalating into a regional one. And Western countries also seem to “read” this message of Russia when repeatedly saying it will not send troops to Ukraine. Both Russia and the West understand, if the threshold of nuclear war is crossed, then this will be a dangerous situation for all parties.

No one wins in nuclear war

It can be affirmed that international treaties and UN resolutions have contributed to the formation of the legal framework and international standards on the disarmament and prohibition of nuclear weapons. “Nuclear weapons are not for self-defense, but suicide” – that is the message of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guteres on the International Day for the complete abolition of nuclear weapons. History has shown the extent of destruction caused by nuclear weapons and in the event of a nuclear war, neither side will win.

The two atomic bombs that the United States dropped on Japan in 1945 were the first and only time to this point that nuclear weapons were used in war. Little Boy – the bomb dropped on Hiroshima with a yield of about 13-18 kilotons. Fat Man – the second atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, with a yield of 21 kilotons. And only the insider can understand that terrible devastation.

Sumiteru Taniguchi, a survivor of the Nagasaki bombing, said: “When everything calmed down, I realized that the skin of my left arm, from my shoulder to the tips of my fingers, was stretching down like a rag. My bike is completely twisted like a piece of candy.”

The bombing of Hiroshima killed 140,000 people in this city. The bombing of Nagasaki three days later claimed the lives of at least 74,000 more. Since the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons have continued to be detonated more than 2,000 times to test and show off military might.

The Soviet Tsar Bomb was the deadliest bomb ever detonated in human history, with a test yield of up to 50 megatons, 2,500 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

Sergei Novikov, communications director of the Russian Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom), said: “After the test, everyone understood that the Soviet Union had a weapon that would not only lead to victory, but also destroy everything. at all, if it is already in use”.

A nuclear weapon is a powerful weapon with a level of destruction completely different from that of conventional bombs or explosives. However, the world continues to live in fear of a possible nuclear disaster.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized: “Escalation of war, whether by accident or a built-in plan, threatens all of humanity. The prospect of nuclear conflict was once impossible. imaginable, is now back within the realm of possibility.”

In the context that nuclear war is still a concern for mankind, especially when the number of nuclear weapons is increasing day by day, the nuclear powers have made a rare move. On January 3, 2022, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – including the US, Russia, China, France and the UK, are also the only 5 countries in the world recognized to possess weapons. nuclear – issued a joint statement pledging to cooperate towards a world free of nuclear weapons. “We declare that in a nuclear war there is no winner. The use of nuclear weapons will have far-reaching consequences. We also insist that nuclear weapons must serve defensive purposes, preventing aggression and war”.

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