Would excluding polar routes reduce the B-52 force?

Would the B-52 force be smaller if polar attack routes were unavailable?

It could instead grow to cover other approaches and spread Soviet defenses.

A participant suggests that losing the polar route could mean fewer B-52s. Clarke argues that the force could instead grow to operate from other places. Operation Chrome Dome already included lower-latitude routes in his comparison, so activity could shift toward those approaches. The number of bombers also served to spread Soviet defensive effort across many incoming aircraft.