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The UK 'independent' nuclear deterrent isn't. Unlike the French one, it uses US missiles whose targets and strike pattern is set if North Carolina.
by gordonguthrie 13y ago
The UK 'independent' nuclear deterrent isn't. Unlike the French one, it uses US missiles whose targets and strike pattern is set if North Carolina.
- tobylane 13y agoCan you reword that? I didn't understand it.
- gordonguthrie 13y agoThe US sets the targets for UK cruise missiles. The French set the targets for French cruise missiles. The Frogs could bomb NY, the Brits, not so much...
- mikeash 13y agoNitpick: the British submarines carry ICBMs (technically, SLBMs, which is mostly just an ICBM launched from a submarine), not cruise missiles. (In case anyone is wondering what the difference is, a cruise missile is basically a suicidal unmanned drone that flies like an airplane, while an ICBM is a rocket that goes into space and then falls back down on its target after burning its fuel.)
- gaius 13y agoOnly in the same way that Honda loads your GPS at the factory in Japan, but you can drive it wherever you like.