US nuke plans will cost $355 billion over a decade: Report

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says President Barack Obama’s plans for the US nuclear weapons complex will cost the country about $355 billion over the next decade.

In a report on Friday, the CBO said the plans included the modernization of nuclear weapons, their delivery systems, and nuclear weapons production laboratories.

According to the report, the cost is nearly $150 billion more than the Obama administration’s $208.5 billion estimate last year.

President Obama had requested $23.1 billion for American nuclear forces in the 2014 fiscal year, including $18 billion to maintain the weapons and supporting laboratories as well as the submarines, bombers and missiles to deliver the weapons, Reuters reported.

In the decade to 2013, the Obama administration’s plans to modernize and maintain submarines, bombers and missiles will cost about $136 billion, the CBO said.

Obama claims the nuclear modernization plan is needed to boost the security of the US military and give political leaders enough confidence in nuclear talks with other world powers.

The new nuclear budget request comes as American officials continue to wrangle over the country’s rising budget deficit.