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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

by ceejayoz 10mo 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 10mo 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 10mo 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?

mrguyorama 10mo 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 10mo 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?