Adm. Charles Richard, head of U.S. Strategic Command, has called for an integrated multi-domain deterrence to avoid being overtaken by modernizing China and Russia, DOD News reported Thursday.
He suggested investing in a secure nuclear architecture, improve conventional forces, field emerging weapons technologies and stand up the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) system, the Department of Defense said Thursday.
Speaking at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Alabama, the U.S. Navy admiral also stressed the importance of experts' output, the timely delivery of military capabilities and interoperability with allies and partners in discouraging adversarial threats.
He warned that Russia and China's efforts, which include the development of hypersonic weapons and the enhancement of nuclear capabilities, would render U.S. strategic deterrence useless.
"And if strategic deterrence, and in particular nuclear deterrence, doesn't hold, none of our other plans and no other capability that we have is going to work as designed," explained Richard.
In July, U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command chief Gen. Glen VanHerck called for Pentagon leaders to use artificial intelligence in developing a comprehensive deterrence strategy.
