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We may have conventional weapons online that make typical nuclear weaponry a little dated. Remember a good rule of thumb is that we won’t know what the military has today until about 20 years from now. My friend who has been at Raytheon for 35 years said that although he can’t really talk about it - it’s really sci-fi stuff. Mind control, energy pulse, purely kinetic, V-Ray, - seriously “out there”

I believe you are right, but there is another factor to consider. The most significant capability of nuclear weapons is deterrance. The deterrant effect of nuclear weapons was unquestionably established in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The deterrant effect of micro-drones and death rays remains theoretical. To go one step further, the modern superweapon must in addition to establishing deterrance also be capable of neutralizing a nuclear threat. It does no good to be able to mske somebody's head explode with the push of a button if doing so trips a dead-man switch that launches his ICBMs.

Now if I knew that we had an operational Thor system in orbit, I'd gladly sell our nukes for a dollar a megaton to the craziest-looking buyer I could fnd in a third-world gutter. But I doubt that we do.

“We may have conventional weapons online that make typical nuclear weaponry a little dated.”

Not at all. Conventional weapons are conventional and are localized. The destruction and devastation of a nuclear weapon is so far and ahead of anything “conventional.”

Your friend in Raytheon, good guy I am sure, but what your friend “knows” has nothing to do with nukes or other WMD (CNB) weapons. Raytheon isn’t into large-scale weapons and therefore, he doesn’t know WMD.

The stuff you are talking about is all sci-fi stuff. R&D in those areas and related areas are on-going, and have been for decades and decades and decades, but we don’t have that sort of stuff—not even close.

Besides, again, Raytheon isn’t into that world and your friend has no access to those programs as Rayteon doesn’t work them and he would not be briefed on them. Want to talk SBD or A/A missiles, or tactical munitions, sure, your friend is into that. But those “sci-fi” systems, no way.

Cheers.