The Nuclear Triad: Alternatives from the Days Gone By

... unthinkable. Besides, only heavy aircraft could at that time offer the capability of delivering nuclear weapons across many thousands of kilometers, which was the ultimate requirement in the stand-off between the United States and the Soviet Union. The ... ... missile, allowing B-52 bombers carrying them to strike four targets within a range of up to 2000 km. [3] At the same time, the USSR was designing an air-launched modification of the R-13 (SS-N-4 Sark) SLBM; unlike the U.S., however, where the similar project ...