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Container ships tend to be fairly slow to respond and may not function as expected during a nuclear war. The only way for this to work as a retaliatory measure

by bob1029 9mo ago

Container ships tend to be fairly slow to respond and may not function as expected during a nuclear war. The only way for this to work as a retaliatory measure is to have the weapons already in place at the target locations. Now, imagine if someone were to discover the weapon and trace it back to whomever installed it. This is effectively a slow motion nuclear exchange that was initiated by the "defender".

ceejayoz 9mo ago
The point of this particular sort of deterrence is to prevent a decapitation strike by an opponent who thinks they can knock them all out. "Yeah, you can drop bunker busters on the silos you know about, but six months later one of your cities evaporates." The five big nuclear powers use subs for this, but it's hardly the only option.
- mrguyorama 9mo ago
  A key feature of those subs is that it won't be six months later. It will be an hour later because one is already stationed just outside your waters. It's also a bit more sneaky than a damn merchant vessel. You really think you're getting secrecy of a nuke existing on a merchant vessel? Why? You have given the enemy intelligence agency nothing more than an entry level homework assignment. That vessel is 99/100 getting intercepted or sunk. How many of your merchant vessels are otherwise sailing towards the country that just armegeddon'd you?
  - ceejayoz 9mo ago
    > A key feature of those subs is that it won't be six months later. It certainly doesn't have to be, but that doesn't mean it can't be. > You really think you're getting secrecy of a nuke existing on a merchant vessel? Things are very routinely smuggled into countries this way today. And nukes are surprisingly hard to detect. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/detecting-nuclear-smuggling/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/detecting-nuclear... "Twice in recent years the two of us helped an ABC News team that smuggled a soda can–size cylinder of depleted uranium through radiation detectors at U.S. ports. The material did not pose a danger to anyone, but it did emit a radiation signature comparable to that of highly enriched uranium (HEU), which can be assembled into a nuclear bomb." > How many of your merchant vessels are otherwise sailing towards the country that just armegeddon'd you? Why would you put it on your own vessel?

by bob1029 9mo ago

ceejayoz 9mo ago

The point of this particular sort of deterrence is to prevent a decapitation strike by an opponent who thinks they can knock them all out. "Yeah, you can drop bunker busters on the silos you know about, but six months later one of your cities evaporates." The five big nuclear powers use subs for this, but it's hardly the only option.

mrguyorama 9mo ago
A key feature of those subs is that it won't be six months later. It will be an hour later because one is already stationed just outside your waters. It's also a bit more sneaky than a damn merchant vessel. You really think you're getting secrecy of a nuke existing on a merchant vessel? Why? You have given the enemy intelligence agency nothing more than an entry level homework assignment. That vessel is 99/100 getting intercepted or sunk. How many of your merchant vessels are otherwise sailing towards the country that just armegeddon'd you?
- ceejayoz 9mo ago
  > A key feature of those subs is that it won't be six months later. It certainly doesn't have to be, but that doesn't mean it can't be. > You really think you're getting secrecy of a nuke existing on a merchant vessel? Things are very routinely smuggled into countries this way today. And nukes are surprisingly hard to detect. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/detecting-nuclear-smuggling/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/detecting-nuclear... "Twice in recent years the two of us helped an ABC News team that smuggled a soda can–size cylinder of depleted uranium through radiation detectors at U.S. ports. The material did not pose a danger to anyone, but it did emit a radiation signature comparable to that of highly enriched uranium (HEU), which can be assembled into a nuclear bomb." > How many of your merchant vessels are otherwise sailing towards the country that just armegeddon'd you? Why would you put it on your own vessel?