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Comment by 082349872349872 | Hacker News Reader

Not mentioned in the article: for MAD reasons, it's much easier to build shelters if everyone knows you have no first strike capability.

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Also not mentioned: SAAB 36[0], the supersonic bomber intended to carry nukes.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_36

The wind tunnel model reminds me of the SR-71.

It takes about 15 minutes between the launch and nuclear detonation halfway across the world. I actually checked where the nearest nuclear shelter is where I live I couple years ago. It’s 35 minutes away if there’s zero traffic, which is unrealistic. So if a nuke strike were to occur my best bet is still to shelter in place in my suburban basement. The strike targets will likely be 15 to 25 miles away.

The joys of living in central Europe - I have a nuclear bunker in my building.

What do you do once everything is nuked? You just come out and hold your breath?

Yes, you come out after the fallout and hope for the best. There used to be supplies during the cold war, probably not anymore. Masks and some anti radiation gear is still there though.

Ours tend to be full of wine, skis, and other bric-a-brac

> it's much easier to build shelters if everyone knows you have no first strike capability.

Why is it easier?

I would assume same reason why in the nuclear warfare logic, it’s a threat to build anti-missile tech. If you start building nuclear shelters and also have capability for first strike, your adversaries are within their rights to think you are escalating, since you are increasing your population’s resiliency to a second strike (hence making it less costly for you to strike first).

^ this was what I had been thinking while writing

You are building shelters meant for protection against collateral from your neighbors getting hit and wide area, city-destroying, Samson-option style air-burst attacks, not bunker-busting precision strike surface detonations designed specifically to crack your underground command centers and silos. It also guarantees you a longer time window between first detonation and you being targeted, meaning less dense shelter network and easier evacuation logistics.

How did that work out for Ukraine?

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