Defense Secretary Ash Carter, delivering a speech at Strategic Command headquarters, has ratcheted up ongoing Pentagon calls for massive spending increases, particularly on the creation of new modern nuclear weapons, claiming the current arsenal is becoming "antiquated."

Carter rattled off a list of potential nuclear "foes," including Russia, China, North Korea, India, Pakistan, and Iran, insisting that while the US had "under-invested" in nuclear arms all those nations "consistently invested" in such weapons.

The Pentagon has been talking up this modernization scheme for years, and the estimated price tag has continued to rise precipitously throughout, with the plan likely to be well in excess of $1 trillion when all is said and done. Carter, like other Pentagon officials, mostly ignored the cost in his comments, insisting the program is vital.