Q&A · 1:19:44-1:20:29

Would longer-ranged British missiles change Cold War targeting?

A longer-ranged missile offers safer basing but does not necessarily change the strategic target set.

Question

How much difference would a 60-mile Blue Water missile and an alternative Black Knight make?

Short answer

They could improve basing safety, but would not substantially change the targets or the wider arms-control problem.

Notes

The added range would not greatly alter what the weapons were meant to strike. It could let them operate from safer positions, while still placing them in the wider political problem of intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Arms-control implications would therefore matter as much as technical range.