Why does Russia and the USA have so many nuclear Warheads, along with other nations building many more?

Question

It took just 2 WMDs to end WWII, so why do these nations have hundreds? I mean, the USA and Russia can destroy human civilization in just a few hours!!!

Answer 1

Well for one they developed many different types, for many different missiles. The two common types are tactical (battlefield use), and Strategic (to use against the country itself). Starting from there you build missiles to carry them, i.e. the minuteman to carry the strategic, the scud to carry tactical, and the polaris or trident to carry submarine launch. You then have to consider the delivery systems and the countermeasures, typically a U.S. ballistic missile submarine carries 16 missiles, with a missile bus, which in turn carries 6-10 warheads, also you need to consider the fact that submarines need to get real close to launch these and hit their intended targets, so attrition will be high, also SLBMs are much more inaccurate that stationary ones so you launch more than one at your intended target to ensure its destruction. you then have bombers to consider, and for those that do make it, it will be a one way journey, so you would need to use a number of them armed with multiple warheads. then you have the issue of anti-missile missiles, which were made to stop an attack, so you launch a number of warheads, with decoys at your target to ensure its destruction. That is the reason there are so many warheads.

Answer 2

It was becuase back in 1812 Neapolean wanted to rule Russia so he made this big war with Russia and Russia never forgave us for making them burn down there capitol city. You can read An Innocent soldier it tells all about it.

Answer 3

Ever heard of the Cold War?

Answer 4

Its equity seem to walk into another wind up that seem to play on a field that have sad consequence rather I think not only the two naive it is become another must have.

Answer 5

to destroy themselves and us along with them

Answer 6

that is the reason they started the nuclear proliferation.Both parties understood that they could end the world five times with the amount of nuclear weapons they have, so they stopped making them and started destroying them.

The reason for which they accumulated the large amount is  wanting to one-upp  the other.

Answer 7

Dude...nuclear warheads are totally in right now.

Answer 8

less than a few hours, but the Russians knew of our atomic bombs before our VP during WW2 era and after they won the war they knew to become a superpower they would need these weapons, hence the started building them, but we wanted to stay as a super power so we built more and better ones and then they built more and better ones and then we did, and then it kept going on as become known as the cold war, then they collapsed, and we didn't so we kept making more oh and we have thousands and so do they but ours a much more superior and ours meaning america

Answer 9

Why don't you ask the Anti-War Democrats that began the Cold War and put us on the path to Nuclear Proliferation as well as the first Cold War military engagement (without Congressional Approval) by Democrat, Harry S. Truman!

Answer 10

This is the nature of an arms race.

The U.S.A and the U.S.S.R. had an unwritten mutually assured destruction arrangement - you will find information about it on Wikipedia.

Answer 11

Yes and they will very soon. As soon as George Bush makes the incredibly stupid mistake of using a "tactical" nuclear strike on Iran that will open up the door for the use of Nuclear weapons in a wider war. A world war.

Answer 12

Two words: Cold War.

Read about it.