elvenwear
Senior Member.
Assuming their ICBMs are operational.strategic bombers are only one piece of the puzzle. ICBMs and nuclear submarines are not vulnerable to drone attacks.
Source: https://www.llnl.gov/sites/www/files/2020-05/W78-STR-Mar-12.pdf
and also...External Quote:
By law, the directors of the NNSA weapons laboratories—Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, and Sandia—provide the secretaries of Energy and Defense with an annual assessment of the stockpile.
...
LEPs address issues discovered through routine surveillance and annual stockpile assessments. Nuclear weapon components are made from various materials including high explosives, steel, plutonium, uranium, and plastics. Over decades, plastics can break down, metals corrode, and coatings deteriorate. A material's properties may change unpredictably in response to high radiation fields, fluctuating temperatures, and other environmental conditions to which stockpile components are subjected.
Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/sci...tists-find-icbms-age-much-faster-they-thought
External Quote:
Chinese rocket scientists find ICBMs age much faster than they thought
Hundreds of intercontinental ballistic missiles could be unusable, according to new research into the shelf life of missile fuel
A subtle, yet significant, issue with the solid fuel used in intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) has been uncovered in a study by Chinese rocket scientists. And it could explain the frequent launch failures experienced by some nuclear powers in recent years.
Under normal storage conditions, typical missile fuel can appear stable for 160 years or more. But tests conducted at the National Key Laboratory of Solid Rocket Propulsion in Xian found that considerable changes may occur in the fuel columns within 30 years, making them unable to withstand the loads during flight.