Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1536266
4. Technical risk: project complexity and reliability, 5. Environmental footprint, 6. Cost: compared to existing systems (e.g., the M-X missile), 7. Compliance: with international treaties. American analyses also considered factors affecting silo survivability, notably the overpressure generated by a Soviet warhead's nuclear explosion against missile silos accommodating the ICBMs. The report's tables compare these test results. Furthermore, analysts concluded rightly that the more blast-hardened a silo, the smaller the area in which an explosion would be effective. The first ICBM-hiding concept evaluated was LUA ("Launch Under Attack"): firing upon detection of an enemy strike. This idea held that the surest way to ensure survival of U.S. ICBMs ready for retaliation was to launch them immediately when an incoming attack was detected. It applied only to targets with known coordinates, since re-targeting in flight would take too long. However, LUA had critical drawbacks, as the American analysts concluded: @ It required extremely precise and reliable early-warning systems, which were still imperfect. This was pronounced to be one of the key deficiencies of this concept, www.fragoutmag.com