by DaKardii » Fri Feb 11, 2022 4:31 pm
tim wrote: ↑Fri Feb 11, 2022 10:44 am
Why are the targets restricted to military only?
The only time this planet has seen nuclear war, the targets were not military but cities.
Just because you are outside the blast radius doesn't mean you're safe. Radioactive fallout will blow for miles.
If you don't have a place to shelter for a couple of weeks as the radiation drops along with a Geiger counter you're toast.
There's a major factor that you're not taking into consideration in your analysis, and that's the detonation altitude.
A detonation close to the ground (or "surface burst") causes considerably less physical damage, but much more radioactive fallout. Conversely, a detonation high in the air (or "airburst") causes much more physical damage, but considerably less radioactive fallout.
In the event of nuclear war it's very likely that the CCP would use airbursts as opposed to surface bursts, for three reasons. First, their objective would be to cause as much damage to US military infrastructure as possible; the number of fatalities would be an afterthought. Second, using airbursts would reduce the window of time our missile defense systems would have to neutralize the bombs. And third, if the CCP intends on having the targeted areas be occupied by "Axis" troops at the end of the war, then it would be imperative for them to ensure the targeted areas are not too contaminated with radioactive fallout, if anything for the sake of the occupying troops.
Yes, there is the possibility that the CCP is psychopathic enough to wage nuclear war in a manner designed to cause more environmental damage than infrastructure damage. But that possibility is remote IMHO. We'll probably see that in the Fourth World War, though, per Navigator's book.
[quote=tim post_id=68486 time=1644590640 user_id=2211]
Why are the targets restricted to military only?
The only time this planet has seen nuclear war, the targets were not military but cities.
Just because you are outside the blast radius doesn't mean you're safe. Radioactive fallout will blow for miles.
If you don't have a place to shelter for a couple of weeks as the radiation drops along with a Geiger counter you're toast.
[/quote]
There's a major factor that you're not taking into consideration in your analysis, and that's the detonation altitude.
A detonation close to the ground (or "surface burst") causes considerably less physical damage, but much more radioactive fallout. Conversely, a detonation high in the air (or "airburst") causes much more physical damage, but considerably less radioactive fallout.
In the event of nuclear war it's very likely that the CCP would use airbursts as opposed to surface bursts, for three reasons. First, their objective would be to cause as much damage to US military infrastructure as possible; the number of fatalities would be an afterthought. Second, using airbursts would reduce the window of time our missile defense systems would have to neutralize the bombs. And third, if the CCP intends on having the targeted areas be occupied by "Axis" troops at the end of the war, then it would be imperative for them to ensure the targeted areas are not too contaminated with radioactive fallout, if anything for the sake of the occupying troops.
Yes, there is the possibility that the CCP is psychopathic enough to wage nuclear war in a manner designed to cause more environmental damage than infrastructure damage. But that possibility is remote IMHO. We'll probably see that in the Fourth World War, though, per Navigator's book.