The President's nuclear football: The most powerful briefcase in the world

9 June 2021, 09:52 | Updated: 9 June 2021, 11:08

By EJ Ward

Wherever Joe Biden goes a military aide is only ever a few feet away, carrying a briefcase with the ability to launch the US nuclear arsenal.

The American nuclear “football,” officially known as the Presidential Emergency Satchel, first came into use in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It's understood President John F. Kennedy was worried about the security surrounding the launching of a nuclear weapon.

US security officials created a briefcase that would give the president the means to quickly receive information and authorise a nuclear strike.

But, US lawmakers of the current president’s own party are asking President Joe Biden to surrender that unilateral power.

The letter, led by Representatives Jimmy Panetta and Ted Lieu, both from California, calls for officials, such as the vice president and speaker of the House, to concur with a launch order before it can be issued.

The letter, which was sent to the White House in February, “proposes several alternatives to investing the president with the sole, unchecked and final authority to order the use of nuclear weapons."

The Football does not actually contain a button for launching a nuclear war. Instead, it contains a series of codebooks with commands which can be communicated to the Pentagon.

It is understood the Football also provides the President with a simple menu or pre-planned nuclear strike options, for example allowing him to select a country or city to target.

When a President is sworn into office they are presented with a plastic card which contains the nuclear codes, the card is referred to as "the biscuit," and a nuclear strike cannot be launched without it.

Biden pledges to be "a president who seeks not to divide but to unify"

During President Donald Trump’s visit to China in 2017, Chinese officials tried to stop the military aide carrying the football from entering the auditorium in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, although the situation was quickly resolved.

The Football is always carried by a uniformed, and armed, military officer shackled to their wrist.

Each of the five branches of the US Uniformed Services supply a mid-ranking commissioned officer to carry the most powerful briefcase in the world.

A second Football is kept close to the Vice President, while a backup resides at the White House.