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Originally Posted by Hugh
In the mid-70s and early 80s, I used to monitor/track Sov TU-95 Bears and TU-22 Backfires running simulated attacks on Europe and Continental U.S. - the consensus was these were Nuke runs, not conventional…
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They still do it now, doubt they’re “nuke runs”. In the 70’s if they were nuke runs then Lightnings would have knocked them out before they got anywhere close.
Response time checks
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Also, 17 Squadron at RAF Bruggen (Phantoms, then Jaguars, then Tornados) carried Nuclear Bombs in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
So, if the Brits, the Americans, and the Russians were all planning to use Aircraft to deliver "Buckets of Instant Sunshine/Unscheduled Sunrises" in the 70s, 80s, & 90s, I would posit your initial proposition is counterfactual…
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My first reply, that you highlighted, that you are responding to was obviously pithy on my part.
What about the other bit?
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Once we moved to submarine launched, and land based ICBMs they pretty much became obsolete, bombers may have been held in reserve. But considering that NATO is not a first strike organisation any deployment would be in response to an attack and the world would probably be an inferno before they got airborne let alone over a target.
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If you are positing this
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So, if the Brits, the Americans, and the Russians were all planning to use Aircraft to deliver "Buckets of Instant Sunshine/Unscheduled Sunrises" in the 70s, 80s, & 90s, I would posit your initial proposition is counterfactual…
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I very much disagree. ICBMs took over and are still now the primary delivery platform of nuclear warheads.