Can This Stop WW3? U.S. vs China: Nuclear Race

The article discusses the current state and future challenges of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, which is based on the Cold War-era nuclear triad: land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), stealth bombers, and submarine-launched missiles. This triad was designed to guarantee a second-strike capability, thereby deterring any first strike by adversaries and maintaining strategic stability for over fifty years. However, this longstanding balance of power is now under threat as global nuclear dynamics evolve. In 2025, China revealed its own nuclear triad, marking a significant shift in the strategic landscape and challenging the traditional deterrence framework. Alongside Russia's ongoing modernization efforts, the U.S. faces the unprecedented challenge of two nuclear peers simultaneously. The article questions whether America's extensive, trillion-dollar modernization program for its nuclear forces will be sufficient to maintain its strategic edge or if the Cold War deterrence model is becoming obsolete in this new era of nuclear competition.