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Potential Attack on US Missile Silos Would Leave 90% of Americans At Risk, Analysis Finds
Potential Attack on US Missile Silos Would Leave 90% of Americans At Risk, Analysis Finds
Sputnik International
Millions of Americans could die from exposure to fallout resulting from a foreign attack on the country’s missile silos, according to new analysis. The exact figure would depend on wind directions and ability to shelter in place.
2023-11-17T00:03+0000
2023-11-17T00:03+0000
2023-11-17T00:01+0000
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People seeking lighthearted poolside reading may enjoy a recent report in US media detailing the disastrous effects of a nuclear strike on the United States.The analysis, published earlier this week, details the effects of a foreign enemy’s hypothetical attack on US nuclear missile silos. The existence of the silos – which altogether number 450 and are located throughout the continental United States – has been touted by the US military as a powerful deterrent as a foreign adversary would deplete significant resources attempting to destroy the country’s land-based nuclear arsenal.If they still attempted to do so, a successful attack would require a nuclear detonation just above each of the 450 below ground bunkers. Such detonations would in turn discharge the missiles inside, triggering massive explosions and huge mushroom clouds. Contaminated dirt and debris would be carried across the United States for days afterward.The exact number of deaths would depend on the direction of winds on the day of the attack as well as Americans’ ability to seek cover. Experts say people would need to shelter in place for at least four days to be best protected from the radioactive fallout.The report concludes that between 340,000 and 4.6 million Americans would die in the attack, with an average of 1.4 million deaths in the authors’ simulations. But millions would be at risk due to circumstances outside their control.The United States’ missile silos represent one prong of the country’s so-called “nuclear triad” consisting of nuclear capability from land, sea, and air.Native American reservations across the US have long borne the brunt of the country’s nuclear capability, with multiple silos built on Native land. The United States has also mined uranium on Indian reservations and stores nuclear waste there.In 1978, US Air Force Chief of Staff Lew Allen Jr. called the missile silos scattered throughout the country “a great sponge” that could “absorb” nuclear weapons attacks from an enemy country.The report comes two weeks after the US Air Force reportedly “terminated” a Minuteman III missile after a failed launch over the Pacific Ocean earlier this month. The nuclear-capable missile was unarmed at the time. The US has announced it will spend $1.5 trillion over the next few years to upgrade the country’s nuclear arsenal, replacing the Minuteman with new “Sentinel” missiles.
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us missile silos, nuclear attack, how widespread would nuclear attack affect us,
us missile silos, nuclear attack, how widespread would nuclear attack affect us,
Potential Attack on US Missile Silos Would Leave 90% of Americans At Risk, Analysis Finds
Millions of Americans could die from exposure to fallout resulting from a foreign attack on the country’s missile silos, according to new analysis. The exact figure would depend on wind directions and ability to shelter in place.
People seeking lighthearted poolside reading may enjoy a recent report in US media detailing the disastrous effects of a nuclear strike on the United States.
The analysis, published
earlier this week, details the effects of a foreign enemy’s hypothetical attack on US nuclear missile silos. The existence of the silos – which altogether number 450 and are located throughout the continental United States – has been touted by the US military as a powerful deterrent as a foreign adversary would deplete significant resources attempting to destroy the country’s land-based nuclear arsenal.
If they still attempted to do so, a successful attack would require a nuclear detonation just above each of the 450 below ground bunkers. Such detonations would in turn discharge the missiles inside, triggering massive explosions and huge mushroom clouds. Contaminated dirt and debris would be carried across the United States for days afterward.
The exact number of deaths would depend on the direction of winds on the day of the attack as well as Americans’ ability to seek cover. Experts say people would need to shelter in place for at least four days to be best protected from the radioactive fallout.
The report concludes that between 340,000 and 4.6 million Americans would die in the attack, with an average of 1.4 million deaths in the authors’ simulations. But millions would be at risk due to circumstances outside their control.
The United States’ missile silos represent one prong of the country’s so-called “nuclear triad” consisting of nuclear capability from land, sea, and air.
Five countries are thought to currently possess a nuclear triad: the United States, Russia, China, India, and Pakistan. Israel is also commonly presumed to have a triad, although the nature of the country’s nuclear capabilities is a state secret.
France currently possesses the world’s fourth-largest nuclear arsenal but the Western European country no longer maintains ground-based nuclear capability.
Native American reservations across the US have long borne the brunt of the country’s nuclear capability, with multiple silos built on Native land. The United States has also mined uranium on Indian reservations and
stores nuclear waste there.
In 1978, US Air Force Chief of Staff Lew Allen Jr. called the missile silos scattered throughout the country “a great sponge” that could “absorb” nuclear weapons attacks from an enemy country.
The report comes two weeks after the US Air Force reportedly “terminated” a Minuteman III missile after a
failed launch over the Pacific Ocean earlier this month. The nuclear-capable missile was unarmed at the time. The US has announced it will spend $1.5 trillion over the next few years to upgrade the country’s nuclear arsenal, replacing the Minuteman with new “Sentinel” missiles.
