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You don't know where the enemy ICBM warheads will land until it is too late. So you have to assume that they will target the silos
by StrauXX 2y ago
You don't know where the enemy ICBM warheads will land until it is too late. So you have to assume that they will target the silos
- Retric 2y agoThe B part of ICBM means ballistic, and they are. Thus you can get a useful approximation of where it’s going to land based on the initial trajectory. By useful I mean you can do significantly better than saying if it’s targeting the middle of the US, east, or west coast. Though it’s quite a large area.
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago> you can get a useful approximation of where it’s going to land based on the initial trajectory If you’re doing a first strike and aren’t a moron, you conventionally strike the early-warning radars first. Ideally in a plausibly-deniable way.
- Retric 2y agoFirst strike detection isn’t limited to early warning radar or ground based systems except in the very early days of the Cold War. There’s no plausibility deniable way to take these systems down in practice.
- absolutelastone 2y agoAnd they have to assume you will assume this, so they would expect your silos will already be emptied in a retaliatory strike. Of course you have to trust early-warning systems and the ability to react decisively and quickly.