Military's Strategic Use of Nuclear Weapons for Budget Control

Military services in various countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, strategically developed nuclear arsenals to secure a larger share of the defense budget. In the US, the Air Force realized that controlling nuclear weapon targeting and production would lead to a larger portion of the budget, resulting in them controlling 47% of the defense budget by the early 1950s. This power struggle for budget allocation led other branches like the Navy and the army to also seek nuclear weapons to secure their share of the national defense budget.