nuclear battlefield

Hi All, As we're hopefully in the final stages of production and to avoid further hijack of other threads.... The vast delta wing form of Avro’s Vulcan has become an iconic symbol of cold war Britain. From starring alongside James Bond in Thunderball to striking improbably distant targets...

Now that Poland is talking openly about needing nuclear weapons this becomes a legitimate technical subject. Poland used Scuds in its WP days and now has MLRS launchers I think. As Belarus and Kaliningrad host nuclear Iskanders Polish SSM have some clear military targets

Part 1 of the Air Historical Branch's history of Typhoon https://www.raf.mod.uk/what-we-do/our-history/air-historical-branch/post-coldwar-studies/eurofightertyphoonpart1coldwarorigins1983-1990/

I recently read that France is considering deploying some nuclear capable Rafales to Germany, to strengthen deterrence further east. I thought this was interesting enough and it might be useful if the British did it as well, but of course they retired their aircraft nukes in 1998 and now only...

I have two questions related to the Ground-directed bombing (GDB) systems: (1) Were the radar-based Ground-directed bombing (GDB) systems used during the Cold War in the European Theater? I mean something like the AN/MSQ-77 or similar? If yes, which aircraft were fitted with equipment to...

View: https://x.com/whatisnuclear/status/1886397754143867189 https://whatisnuclear.com/news/2025-02-03-declassified-nuclear-powered-aircraft-progress-update-manned-flight-film.html View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-8q8INxQEY This is an excellent video with lots of information on the...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/01/31/china-building-largest-military-command-centre-in-world/

Ok I'd like to ask a few questions. When in 1974 the Soviets started putting IRBMs and ICBMs on trains and trucks (from memory: SS-16, SS-20, SS-24 later) why no symmetrical answer from the USA ? -was it just a matter of wrong timing - after Minuteman production run, before MX ? -what were the...

IOW - earlier & greater cooperation with SAAB and the British companies, while the cooperation between the later and the French and other European NATO is much smaller? Draken was powered by the British engine, Viggen was supposed to be powered by the Medway, while the Gripen should've been just...

Ever since the first Zeppelin raids in World War 1 the vulnerability of the civilian population of the UK to attack from the air has been a major factor in shaping our armed forces. The tile "Air Defence of Great Britain" comes from the organisation set up to meet the only air threat imagined in...

What if Saddam never invaded Kuwait and never being throw up??? What would be the state of Ba'ath Iraqi armed forces?

Between 1945 and 1990 the UK's only source of potential foreign invasion was the Soviet Union. Whereas Germany's Sealion plans of 1940 are the subject of numerous books and wargames, there is little or nothing about Soviet plans for Britain in the event of a war. With most of Britain's army...

I saw a B58 Hustler for the first time the other day, I was surprised by how small it was. I also finally understand what the combination fuel-weapon store is and does. Was the design too specific and limited to remain in service beyond 1969? Could it have carried SRAMs or other advanced...

The 'Massive Retaliation' era ~1957-1967 appears to have skewed Defence Projects and Procurement compared to what occurred previously and what occurred in the 'Flexible Response' era where conventional forces were given much greater priority compared to nuclear forces. This made me think that if...

I know we already discussed that in this topic, https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/mirages-i-iii-5-prototypes-projects.36283/ But I want to split this subject in another thread,the tenders of that contest are, - Nord N-1540,N.1541,N.2540,N.3540,N.3541 & N.5010 Harpon - SNCASE SE.5020 &...

Apart from on the pages of Eagle comic there is no such thing as the Royal Space Force. 1957 ;saw not just the infamous Sandys White Paper but also the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union. PM Macmillan and Defence Secretary Sandys realise how vulnerable this makes the West and Britain in...

Just came across Operation Downfall, and was pondering. What might be the political situation that would warrant the plan coming to fruition? What projects would be pursued and put into production, and what wouldn't? Who would win the war? Perhaps the 3rd world war would be caused by a...

Nothing in military history has given the RAF such a hold on the public imagination as the gallant Spitfire and Hurricane pilots of the Battle of Britain. Sadly in the postwar nuclear world their successors have only been tasked with wartime defence of key military infrastructure in the UK. It...

The fledgling Lufftwaffe and Marineflieger appeared to be interesting in buying British in their earliest days. Of course this was the worst possible time to deal with the British, so every effort fell over. Wiki referencing Wood. The German Defence Ministry first expressed interest in the...