Military analyst Alexey Leonkov believes that over the next 15–20 years the core of US nuclear deterrence will shift to sea-, land- and air-launched cruise missiles fitted with thermonuclear warheads.

He argues that this choice is not accidental. According to Leonkov, Washington’s traditional nuclear arsenal is steadily aging, and its real combat potential is declining. He is convinced that the United States is no longer able to inflict on an adversary the kind of irreparable damage it could once guarantee.

Leonkov recalled that, for this reason, Donald Trump during his first term withdrew the US from the treaty on intermediate- and shorter-range missiles. He noted that in 2018 production began on the two-stage Dark Eagle missile, which, in his words, is still far from being in optimal condition.

The expert added that the US has already developed a new concept of «limited nuclear war» built around large-scale use of cruise missiles, under which such weapons could be employed against any opponent. In his view, decisions on launching these missiles could be taken by military commands — including European ones — without necessarily seeking approval from the US president, depending on the battlefield situation.

Leonkov also pointed to the existence of a «global strike» strategy, which, as he described it, envisages the massive use of hundreds of thousands of missiles against states that possess nuclear weapons.