See Buran. From the Soviet point of view the Space Shuttles were the largest and fastest first strike nuclear bombers ever created. With enough of them in orbi

See Buran. From the Soviet point of view the Space Shuttles were the largest and fastest first strike nuclear bombers ever created. With enough of them in orbit you just obsoleted all other nuclear delivery methods. Just because something pretends to be a civilian craft doesn't mean it can't be repurposed into a military one in no time at all.