List of European Nuke Strikes?

[sic1701]

Am I the only one wondering what has become of all those nuclear weapons, on all sides, that went unused during the Twilight War?

If, indeed, the line was inched across in dribs and drabs and no one went for the throat on a true counterforce strike, then somewhere there must be some Minuteman IIIs and SS-24s and SS-25s out there waiting in the wings for proper authority.

Or has that been covered in one of the rulebooks?

[chico20854]

Originally Posted by sic1701

Am I the only one wondering what has become of all those nuclear weapons, on all sides, that went unused during the Twilight War?

If, indeed, the line was inched across in dribs and drabs and no one went for the throat on a true counterforce strike, then somewhere there must be some Minuteman IIIs and SS-24s and SS-25s out there waiting in the wings for proper authority.

Or has that been covered in one of the rulebooks?

It hasn't been covered in the rulebooks.

The interpretation I take to the various Broken Arrow (loose nuke) scenarios is that the various authorities - Milgov, Civgov and the remnants of the Soviet government - want to maintain control of the remaining nuclear weapons. I believe there is a reference in Airlords of the Ozarks to Milgov sending a team into the remnants of Eaker Air Force Base shortly after it had been nuked to retrieve the warheads.

The warheads are probably sitting in a secure tunnel somewhere. Cheyenne Mountain (and its Russian equivalents)? The USAF also maintained a stockpile of inactive nuclear weapons at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, NM in underground/hardened facilities.

In addition to Minuteman IIIs, there are probably also bombers at various diversion fields - military and civilian airports with runways over 10,000 feet or so. I've got some ideas about these too...

[sic1701]

I think an excellent place to store "decommissioned" nuclear weapons would be the Yucca Mountain Site in Nevada, which was designed to store nuclear waste...what better place, as the gamma flux from the waste would help mask the prescence of weapons thought to be already disposed of.

I can't remember, is the Pantex facility in Amarillo on the strike list? Zlatoust, in the Ural Mountains, is probably the mountain storage facility you're thinking of; a gigantic sprawling site akin to the Manzano Mountain facility at Kirtland.

And, previous treaties aside, once open war broke out in Europe, I would imagine that both sides would again arm surface warships, dig out the air-launched nukes, etc. Just in case.

[stilleto69]

Chico -
Not to open sore wounds, but I think you covered such a case of several B-52's that had landed at Columbus AFB. During the DC Group's Recovery Plan. Which was one hell'va document if I say so myself.

[Panther Al]

Originally Posted by chico20854

It hasn't been covered in the rulebooks

The warheads are probably sitting in a secure tunnel somewhere. Cheyenne Mountain (and its Russian equivalents)? The USAF also maintained a stockpile of inactive nuclear weapons at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, NM in underground/hardened facilities.

In addition to Minuteman IIIs, there are probably also bombers at various diversion fields - military and civilian airports with runways over 10,000 feet or so. I've got some ideas about these too...

When it comes to Cheyenne Mountain I tend to think the designers dropped the ball. When I was stationed at Fort Carson we joked that in case of nuclear attack there would be no point in finding shelters. In V2.2 it says NORAD got a 3mt ground burst: It, Carson, and the Springs (including the academy) would be one crater. At rush hour you could be in the centre of the springs and be at the front gate of Norad in about 15 minutes. Hence, Milgov in my mind would be in Denver if in Colorado at all (maybe in rural Wyoming: heard from numerous sources there is a decent smallish command centre out there for british use in case the actual owners of some of the land is out that way when nukes start to fly).