Toning Up the Nuclear Triad

• Share

(4 of 4)

In a real emergency, Campion would next reach for an 8-in. by 10-in. painted red metal box sealed by two combination locks. Each officer knows one, but not both, of the combinations. Inside are further authenticating documents, plus the keys needed to activate the missiles. To prevent such an action from occurring on the judgment of a single officer, the locks into which the keys fit are situated 12 ft. apart and must be turned simultaneously.

The U.S. Minuteman arsenal is scheduled to be augmented or partly replaced, beginning in 1986, by a new generation of MX "Peacekeeper" missiles. Congress has so far funded 42 of the new missiles, each of which will carry ten warheads with at least 300 kilotons of explosive power apiece, compared with the Minuteman III's three warheads, each packing up to a 330-kiloton punch. Reagan would like to build 100 MX's, but critics say its many warheads make the MX an inviting target for Soviet strategists and thus a destabilizing weapon.

Though some strategists urge the U.S. to place more emphasis on its Trident fleet at the expense of both the land-based and airborne parts of its nuclear arsenal, no leading strategist would eliminate any one of the Triad's legs. "There are no practical alternatives," says Vice Admiral Ron Thunman, who heads the Navy's submarine program. Robert Komer, a former Pentagon official, says, "It's just the natural balance of power and threat."