Beijing now possesses some 500 operational nuclear warheads, a new Pentagon report says.
  • @[email protected]English
    5•1 year ago

    “The results found that 100 nuclear warheads are adequate for nuclear deterrence in the worst case scenario, while using more than 100 nuclear weapons by any aggressor nation (including the best positioned strategically to handle the unintended consequences) even with optimistic assumptions (including no retaliation) would cause unacceptable damage to their own society.” – source

    You had the same reaction I did. Seems like once you have enough nuclear weapons to destroy humanity, you have more than enough.

    • @captainlezbianEnglish
      2•1 year ago

      True, but I think it’s more psychological than practical. Nuclear warheads have had a bit of a mental version of the inverse ninja law. The reality is that two nuclear weapons have been used in real world conflict and they were catastrophically devastating enough to stop a nation that was potentially willing to fight to the last dead civilian. Those weapons were also small, weak, and easily disrupted compared to today’s. We’re not really good at understanding that France can destroy life on earth just as effectively as the US and China so when someone has thousands they’re scarier than someone with 200, even though 200 would do more than enough damage to everyone