Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1536266
@ A false alarm could trigger a U.S. launch, provoke a Soviet retaliation, and precipitate World War III. @ Reaction times were very short: ICBMs from Soviet territory would reach U.S. targets in about 30 minutes, leaving scant time for presidential sitrep and decision-making, and SLBMs would arrive in just 5–10 minutes—making LUA infeasible against submarine-launched missiles. LUA's advantages included no environmental impact, minimal cost (no new infrastructure), no technical modifications, immediate deployability, low technical risk, and treaty compliance. It was concluded that, while a sound concept, LUA alone could not underpin U.S. land-based strategic forces, since the Soviets might develop means to jam or deceive early-warning systems remaining at the US disposal, undermining LUA's effectiveness. Another proposed method for deploying ICBMs was to place them in Earth orbit as part of a Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS). This system was based on installing new missiles in existing Minuteman ICBM silos, which would be capable of launching nuclear warheads into Earth orbit. These warheads could then strike the USSR from an unexpected direction: namely, from the south. An alternative approach considered placing the warheads in orbit and then rapidly deorbiting them onto targets within the USSR. Theoretically, if international tensions were to ease, it would also be possible to safely bring the launched warheads back to Earth by deorbiting them over ocean areas, ANALYSIS