Pentagon Drafting New Nuclear Strategy To Expand Options for Tactical Nuclear Weapons UseDave DeCamp – AntiWar.com Aug 9, 2026“If you actually want extended deterrence to be credible, you have to provide the nation’s political leadership with nuclear capabilities that common sense indicates you could actually use,” a source told NBC. “Without a firm rejection of the option to use nuclear weapons first in a conflict, by building and fielding more tactical nuclear weapons the administration is signaling its intention to use them against enemy forces and industrial infrastructure in a conflict,” the Arms Control Association said in response to the NBC report. The ACA said that it “strongly opposes the administration’s decision to build more tactical nuclear weapons to supplement the options that exist” and pointed to the fact that the US already has at least two types of tactical nuclear weapons, including B61-12 gravity bombs, which are deployed in Europe, and the W76-2 low-yield warhead for the Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missile. Colby has been one of the leading voices in Washington’s policy circles advocating for the US to prepare for limited nuclear war. “This requires conventional military power, but it also means having the right strategy and weapons to fight a limited nuclear war and come out on top.”