[DChambers]

(11-18-2014 11:51 AM)Sp5 Wrote:  

(11-18-2014 08:11 AM)DChambers Wrote:  

^^ Unless things go nuclear.

I that occurred all of our surface fleet and our main installations would be gone. Indeed, since the President changed the policy of nuclear retaliation, instead of launching upon our detection of enemy nukes inbound we will now absorb the first strike and then retaliate (with what you might add), a nuclear war would find us at a great disadvantage.

Nah, right now and for some years into the future, the Chinese do not have enough deployed ready weapons to mount a "counterforce" strike which would take out American land based ICBMs and other bases. They have less than 100 land based and sub-launched ICBMs They are only starting to get MIRVs now.

The USA could ride out a Chinese first strike and still utterly destroy China.

Both the USA and the USSR came close to launching on false alarms in the past.

In a conventional war, the US submarine fleet would be limited only by its payload of torpedoes and missiles in sinking targets. They could sit in the Straits of Taiwan and pick off invasion transports. Probably with a few other navies like the Japanese, British and French, too.

The one cool thing the Chinese have developed is a ballistic missile with terminally guided warheads to possibly sink a carrier.

Ah I was unclear. I am assuming that China and Russia are united in any scenario in which one takes on the U.S. No one power could take on the U.S. Russia's nuclear payload would devastate the U.S. to a large extent though.

In addition the U.S. continues to keep 1/2 of its submarine fleet docked at King's Bay Georgia at all times to adhere to a disarmament treaty. A single nuke hitting that location would devastate the U.S. sub fleet. If satellite and GPS systems are disabled then the U.S. fleet would be blind.