Quote:
Originally Posted by kraznyi_oktjabr
France:
- SSBNs
- air launched missiles (still in service?)
UK:
- SSBNs
US:
- SSBNs
- silo based ICBMs
- gravity bombs
Russia:
- SSBNs
- silo based ICBMs
- mobile ICBMs (both road and rail)
- gravity bombs
- air launched missiles (still in service?)
Russia's is most survivable in my opinion. U.S. was developing mobile system (Midgetman), but cancelled it at end of Cold War. Notable also is that many Russian land based systems still use MIRVed warheads instead of single ones as in U.S. Minuteman currently does.
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France does still have Air launched nuclear cruise missiles with the ASMP, and will probably upgrade to the ASMP-A at some point. There's about sixty or so in service. Their missiles are also MIRV'd, as are our Tridents IIRC (well, technically they're American Tridents but British warheads), and the US still has warheads for its cruise missiles too. I must admit though that I did not know about the single warhead on the Minuteman IIIs, now that is interesting. I guess perhaps the logic is to have many missiles with single warheads (to keep under the limits of various treaties) and spread them out rather than a few missiles with multiple warheads and run the risk of them being taken out in the silo.
