Russia complains that America's very thin missile defenses threaten their very large nuclear force's ability to nuke America and Europe. Which makes no sense unless their lack of maintenance has crippled the readiness of their declared nuclear force.
Is this report of a nuclear torpedo evidence that Russia lacks confidence in their ICBM force?
Kanyon is reportedly a very long range autonomous underwater vehicle that has a range 6,200 miles, a maximum depth of 3,280 feet, and a speed of 100 knots according to claims in leaked Russian documents.
But what really makes Kanyon nightmare fuel is the drone torpedo's payload: a 100-megaton thermonuclear weapon.
That size of a warhead is "11" in Spinal Tap terms.
The weapons is restricted to coastal cities, of course, but that still puts a lot of important territory in the cross hairs.
And how far away would we have to stop it before it destroys the coastal city with even a nearby explosion?
And makes my worries of another Pearl Harbor kind of tiny, by comparison.
Did those who mocked my worry consider Kanyon? I know I didn't.
But I did consider that an enemy with incentive to find a way can find a way. So we should try to mitigate the effects of being surprised even if we can't fathom the form it might take.
And this is also a way to nullify missile defense, you must admit.
