America's creaky defenses against a surprise nuclear attack are stuck in the Cold War past

The aging arsenal may be due for an upgrade — and possibly a total rethink

A U.S. Air Force T-38 Talon aircraft and B-2 Spirit aircraft fly in formation during a training mission
(Image credit: DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder, U.S. Air Force/Released)

Quietly scattered in the air, on land, and at sea, the United States maintains 1,597 strategic nuclear weapons to protect it against surprise nuclear attack. Each is 15 times larger than the bomb that devastated Hiroshima.

Collectively, America's nukes pack more firepower than what was expended in all past wars combined, enough to send any country back to the Dark Ages.

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Kyle Mizokami is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Daily Beast, TheAtlantic.com, The Diplomat, and The National Interest. He lives in San Francisco.