The Soviet Union answered Western barriers with large aviation ships and surface raiders, faster and deeper-diving submarines, and long-range missile bombers. Those counters show how a technological solution devised by one side can invite another technical response. Strategy also had to protect the economic system that bound Western allies together, particularly if a conventional war lasted beyond the opening days. The United States could defend itself more effectively from allied bases near an opponent than from its own shoreline, but those allies and bases depended on maritime trade and functioning wartime economies.
Chapter · 45:27-49:15
Technology needs strategy and an economy that can endure
New Soviet ships, submarines, and missile aircraft demonstrate why every technical advantage needs a strategy, especially when allied economic systems must survive a long war.