1,200 deployed missiles during the Cold War. (5) The ICBM force of the United States currently consists of approximately 400 Minuteman III missiles deployed across 450 operational missile silos, each carrying a single warhead. (6) The Russian Federation currently deploys at least 300 ICBMs with multiple warheads loaded on each missile and has announced plans to replace its Soviet-era systems with modernized ICBMs. (7) The People’s Republic of China currently deploys at least 75 ICBMs and plans to grow its ICBM force through the deployment of modernized, road-mobile ICBMs that carry multiple warheads. (8) The Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China deploy nuclear weapons across a variety of platforms in addition to their ICBM forces. (9) Numerous countries possess or are seeking to develop nuclear weapons capabilities that pose challenges to the nuclear deterrence of the United States. (10) The nuclear deterrent of the United States is comprised of a triad of delivery systems for nuclear weapons, including submarine-launched ballistic missiles (in this subsection referred to as SLBMs ), air-delivered gravity bombs and cruise missiles, and land-based ballistic missiles that provide interlocking and mutually reinforcing attributes that enhance strategic deterrence. (11) Weakening one leg of the triad limits the deterrent value of the other legs of the triad. (12) In the nuclear deterrent of the United States, ICBMs provide commanders with the most prompt response capability, SLBMs provide stealth and survivability, and aircraft armed with nuclear weapons provide flexibility. (13) The ICBM force of the United States forces any would-be attacker to confront more than 400 discrete targets, thus creating an effectively insurmountable targeting problem for a potential adversary. (14) The size, dispersal, and global reach of the ICBM force of the United States ensures that no adversary can escalate a crisis beyond the ability of the United States to respond. (15) A potential attacker would be forced to