There is no such thing as a tactical nuclear weapon. Wartime detonations will almost certainly provoke a strategic response. Also Americans live in a magical realism mindset when it comes to nukes.
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one hundred thousand percent yes
aug 23, 2025, 6:47 pm • 1 0 • view
if I see another "nuclear apocalypse started by terrorists with no nationstate response" indie novel series I'm gonna cry
aug 23, 2025, 6:48 pm • 3 0 • view
the tactical nuke concept, much like the item in-situ wrt the novels, created itself ex nihilo
aug 23, 2025, 6:52 pm • 2 0 • view
well yeah you can have a nuke if it's not TOO BIG it's controllable right?? if you are pure of heart and big if brain the nukes will only hurt your enemies right?
aug 23, 2025, 6:56 pm • 5 0 • view
The moment you use a nuke, everyone is your enemy, so yeeeesss?
aug 23, 2025, 6:58 pm • 4 0 • view
"its a sub kiloton warhead, what's the big deal" and other statements erased by electromagnetic pulse
aug 23, 2025, 7:00 pm • 5 1 • view
Calling normal bomb munitions tactical nukes on the basis that since both can be measured in tons of tnt, they're basically interchangeable, causing my staff officers to plot a coup against me
aug 23, 2025, 6:53 pm • 3 0 • view
Counterpoint
aug 23, 2025, 11:46 pm • 4 0 • view
Here's a fun fact I need to get out of my head to go along with that: There is no way for our Minutemen ICBM's to strike North Korea without overflying Russia. Russia's early warning systems are not actually good enough to be able to tell that we're aiming for North Korea.
aug 23, 2025, 6:57 pm • 3 0 • view
that's what the submarines are for though
aug 23, 2025, 7:18 pm • 1 0 • view
I knew someone would say this, and there's a few reasons why you wouldn't. 1) US nuclear doctrine has been and still is that you use your ICBM's first, because they are the most vulnerable asset - if you don't use them first, they will probably not get used at all.
aug 23, 2025, 9:01 pm • 3 0 • view
2) Since they take ~30 minutes, while SLBM's only take less than 10, you save the sub strike until the last minute - more surprise and chaos that way
aug 23, 2025, 9:03 pm • 3 0 • view
3) Even if you did launch SLBM's first, both Russia and China would not really be able to tell the target is not them until fairly late in the flight. They would need to make a launch decision before that, because again, less than 10 minutes.
aug 23, 2025, 9:06 pm • 2 0 • view
3b) Russia's warning systems are known to *over*-estimate incoming missile launches, on top of this, making a small salvo against North Korea possibly appear as 100+ missiles heading for Russia.
aug 23, 2025, 9:07 pm • 2 0 • view
Anyway I have read way too many books on nukes and now my mind is filled with horrible horrible knowledge, thanks for listening.
aug 23, 2025, 9:08 pm • 0 0 • view
All correct.
aug 23, 2025, 9:08 pm • 2 0 • view
The only thing that matters is that it's nuclear. Even if a "Super MOAB" were built that better rivaled nuclear weapons, it wouldn't have the same physical or psychological effects.
aug 24, 2025, 2:53 am • 0 0 • view