6 Cold War sites you can visit in America
For decades, America was convinced that the Soviet Union was going to nuke the country and possibly the world. Even though the US and Russia were allies during WWII, once…
This American bomber-killing missile had a nuclear punch
In the early days of the Cold War, the United States was working on developing advanced surface-to-air missiles to intercept Soviet bombers. The first and only missile for a while that fit the Air Force’s bill was dubbed the “Bomarc.”
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Why America built 3,000 of these simple nuclear weapons
When it comes to nuclear weapons, we hear a lot about ICBMs and SSBNs, but what is likely America’s most common nuke isn’t a missile – it’s dropped from a plane. We’re talking, of course, about the B61 gravity bomb, which has been around for a…
Why the US needed the United Kingdom’s permission to drop the atomic bomb
Why the United States might need the British government’s approval to do anything after the year 1776 might seem baffling to some but when it came to science and technology,…
When the Navy sank nuclear waste with machine guns
In the 1950s, nuclear reactors and weapons were all the rage. Bombs were getting bigger, people were hosting nuclear parties, and reactors were enabling the Navy to launch submarines and ships that could go years without refueling.
But all tha…
Russia’s nuclear torpedo arsenal is designed to inflict maximum pain
Hypersonic missiles being developed by the Russian ministry of defense are getting most of the attention in international news media these days. This could be for a number of reasons,…
Why the pilot who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima doesn’t have a grave
When Paul Tibbets died in January 2007, he had been retired from the Air Force since 1966. He was never forgotten, however, and never would be. He was the man who dropped the first atomic weapon used in combat against an enemy city. But instead of b…
A brief history of North Korea’s nuclear programs
North Korea hasn’t always been a nuclear pariah. For most of its history, it was just a regular pariah. Even the Soviet Union wasn’t thrilled with Kim Il-Sung’s special brand…
Why Russia has three nuclear footballs – and who can use them
The United States closest geopolitical rival is Russia, but when it comes to the way their militaries operate, that’s where the two countries’ similarities end. Nowhere is this more apparent…
This app lets you see the destructive power of nukes on your hometown
Growing up relatively close to an Air Force Major Command base toward the end of the Cold War, we were constantly reminded of one thing: If the “big one” ever came, we were among the first to be toast. But were we really? Thankfully, now there’s …