The Pentagon must cut $50B of waste put this weapon on the chopping block

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans this week to move up to $50 billion of the Pentagon’s budget from “low-impact and low-priority programs” to ones that align with President Trump’s defense strategy — an excellent first step to get the department ready for the threats America faces from China and other adversaries.But not even cutting every last DEI program and burdensome administrative process will yield anywhere close to $50 billion.The only way to find that kind of money is to cut weapons programs that no longer meet America’s needs.And the first item on the chopping block should be the Long-Range Standoff missile, which will cost at least $16 billion over the next 10 years.The LRSO is a nuclear-capable, air-launched cruise missile intended to be carried by bombers like the B-52, the B-2 and the B-21.

The US nuclear arsenal includes a triad of air, land, and sea weapons, and the LRSO is part of the air component.But we may no longer need air-based nuclear weapons at all.The bedrock of our nuclear arsenal is the land-based arm of the triad, including intercontinental ballistic missiles.They would deliver a massive retaliatory blow if we detect an inbound Chinese or Russian first strike, making ICBMs the backbone of the Mutually Assured Destruction strategy that has for decades prevented nuclear war.We also still need the sea-based leg of the triad, which consists of submarine-launched ballistic missiles.No surprise attack could take out these subs, so they guarantee a devastating retaliation even if the enemy somehow destroys our ICBMs.The sea leg provides what the Pentagon calls second-strike survivability.So what does the air leg of the triad, including bombers with LRSOs, add to our defense?Not much.Even the air leg’s most charitable supporters say its role is to “complement land- and sea-based nuclear forces” and provide a “highly visible means to signal US intent.” Bombers are also different, boosters say, because of their ...