; (B) consider the long-term health and viability of the industrial base when structuring and awarding major procurement or development contracts; and (C) when appropriate, structure programs to provide stability to the industrial base by maintaining continued production for an extended period. 1667. Sense of the Senate on nuclear deterrence commitments of the United States It is the sense of the Senate that— (1) credible extended deterrence commitments make key contributions to the security of the United States, international stability, and the nonproliferation objectives of the United States; (2) the nuclear forces of the United States, as well as the independent nuclear forces of other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (in this section referred to as NATO ), continue to play a critical role in national security strategy of the United States and the security of the NATO alliance; (3) the forward-deployment of dual-capable aircraft operated by the United States, and the participation of certain NATO members in the nuclear deterrence mission, are vitally important to the deterrence and defense posture of NATO; (4) such aircraft provide a credible and flexible nuclear capability that plays a fundamental role in regional deterrence and effectively assuring allies and partners of the commitment of the United States to their security