![]() That’s referred to as a “nuclear sponge” - or land that would draw the attack, absorb some of the most horrific hits and take away the fire, at least for a moment, from more populated urban areas. However, Eaves’ article also shows that Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota with their three land-based missile clusters dating back to the Cold-War era are mostly used to “draw fire,” a fancy term that means in the event of nuclear war, Montana would be the “big die” state.Įaves argues that military and political enemies like North Korea, China and Russia know where the country’s land-based nuclear missiles are located, and in case of an attack, would make them among the first targets. In her report, she quotes a retired Air Force colonel who said after the first couple of nuclear bombs strike, all other ones do is rattle the rubble. In the report, “Why is America getting a new $100 billion nuclear weapon,” Eaves argues that more nuclear weapons are unnecessary as both the United States and Russia have more than 4,000 each. This would mean that Montana and its storehouse of missiles would be among the first area targeted, likely wiping out all human life in Montana, according to the report’s author, Elisabeth Eaves. The calculus goes something like this: If an enemy wanted to strike at America’s nuclear capabilities, they’d have to launch dozens of missiles of their own at places like Montana to disable them enough to impede a U.S. That’s a technical term that reveals, among other things in a new report published Monday by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, that while Montana is in line to get part of a new $100 billion land-based missile defense system to replace its Minutemen III weapons, the reasons behind the new system are mired in politics, lobbying and have little do with making America safer, reports The Daily Montanan.įor example, one of the main purposes of the system is to provide a target for superpowers like Russia or China to strike. See also ARCHITECTURE: Cold War Architecture / WAR: Cold War.Montana is known to residents as either the “Treasure State” or “The Big Sky State,” but to defense experts, it’s just a “nuclear sponge.” Not much of a silo is visible from above, but the depth of a missile silo that accommodates either a Peacekeeper or Minuteman missile exceeds 100 feet. ![]() The missiles are stored underground to provide protection from the elements and from attack. Stored below is the missile that, in a true launch situation, would emerge after the door was blasted off the silo opening by explosive charges. Visible from the surface is each silo's 110-ton blast door, which looks like a well-guarded slab of concrete. Armed guards routinely inspect each site and respond immediately to any attempted unauthorized access. A chain-link fence, barbed wire, and an array of motion-detection devices enclose each silo. Warren Air Force Base includes portions of western Nebraska, northern Colorado, and eastern Wyoming, an area of more than 12,000 square miles. Missile silos are scattered across such vast expanses so that potential adversaries would have to target each missile individually. Each of these missiles is stored, ready to launch, in its own hardened launch facility, commonly called a missile silo. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, and Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, has oversight and control over the missile force, which is comprised of Minuteman III and Peacekeeper missiles. Each of the three Strategic Missile Wings at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, F. Across the Great Plains, from northern Colorado into western Nebraska and throughout Wyoming, North Dakota, and Montana, are the missile fields of the United States nuclear program.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |