[URL unfurl="true"]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional_Orbital_Bombardment_System[/URL]
Fun fact about FOBS : how the Soviets played dumb with Article IV of the Outer Space Treaty. That is : "no nukes in Earth orbit".
Case 1
1-Soviets test FOBS prototype on multiple orbits.
2-US reaction "aaaaaarrgh, you violated the OST, article IV."
3-Soviet answer "No, we didn't. Multiple orbits maybe, but it was a test vehicle so nuke onboard, be assured. So we didn't violated the OST".
4-(facepalm)
Case 2
1-US answer to Case 1 "you really think we are such dumbarses ? On the operational FOBS you will put a nuke warhead. And there, it will violate the OST, article IV.
2-Soviet answer "Well - no again. In case of war, the FOBS with the nuke will make an incomplete orbit: USSR to USA. And since an incomplete orbit is suborbital, and suborbital means ICBMs which are not banned by the OST... (and R-36 can do both missions, ha ha !), hell no, we don't violate Article IV."
3-(double facepalm)
Mercifully the americans could still answer "well screw you we don't care in the end. We have radars to waste your surprise attack coming from the opposite direction; plus FOBS lacks precision and greatly diminishes the R-36 payload, near-orbital compared to suborbital"
