Nuclear weapons delivery

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(Redirected from
Nuclear missile
)
F-100 Super Sabre at Kadena Air Base
in Japan

Nuclear weapons delivery is the technology and systems used to place a nuclear weapon at the position of detonation, on or near its target. Several methods have been developed to carry out this task.

Strategic nuclear weapons are used primarily as part of a doctrine of

kilotons
) were weaker than many of today's tactical weapons, yet they achieved the desired effect when used strategically.

Nuclear triad

A nuclear triad refers to a

nuclear deterrence.[1][2][3]

Main delivery mechanisms

Gravity bomb

gravity bombs
.

Historically the first method of nuclear weapons delivery, and the method used in

gravity bomb dropped by a plane. In the years leading up to the development and deployment of nuclear-armed missiles, nuclear bombs represented the most practical means of nuclear weapons delivery; even today, and especially with the decommissioning of nuclear missiles, aerial bombing remains the primary means of offensive nuclear weapons delivery, and the majority of US
nuclear warheads are represented in bombs, although some are in the form of missiles.

Gravity bombs are designed to be dropped from planes, which requires that the weapon be able to withstand vibrations and changes in air temperature and pressure during the course of a flight. Early weapons often had a removable core for safety, known as

physics package" it contains. The "B61
", for example, was the primary bomb in the US arsenal for decades.

Various air-dropping techniques exist, including

laydown
modes, intended to give the dropping aircraft time to escape the ensuing blast.

The earliest gravity nuclear bombs (

multirole fighter aircraft, such as the single-engined F-16 and F-35
.

Cruise missile