Tribune
12 Mar 2009, 03:17 PM
I have a question for the military buffs around here : I recently read an article from the Time magazine, from 1950, immediately after the chinese intervention in Korea, where there were discussed around 7-8 war scenarios. Two of them included use of nuclear weapons.
Also, as we know, US threatened (indirectly) on several occasions with the use of such weapons, like in Korea or during the Taiwan crisis from 1955.
The question is : assuming that one nuclear power decided to use nukes, was there a way to prevent them being used by the enemy in case the bombers carrying them were shot down and the weapons recovered ?
Take for instance the Korean war as case in point : the B-29 or his successor B-36 wasn't exactly invulnerable so some of them might have been downed with such weapons on board. In such a case, US would have simply gifted China with a much better card.
So what happens if an aircraft with nukes on board crashed on hostile territory ? Can they be neutralized in the event of falling into enemy's hands ?
Also, as we know, US threatened (indirectly) on several occasions with the use of such weapons, like in Korea or during the Taiwan crisis from 1955.
The question is : assuming that one nuclear power decided to use nukes, was there a way to prevent them being used by the enemy in case the bombers carrying them were shot down and the weapons recovered ?
Take for instance the Korean war as case in point : the B-29 or his successor B-36 wasn't exactly invulnerable so some of them might have been downed with such weapons on board. In such a case, US would have simply gifted China with a much better card.
So what happens if an aircraft with nukes on board crashed on hostile territory ? Can they be neutralized in the event of falling into enemy's hands ?