The United States withdrew from the INF treaty in 2019, however, believing that Russia was non-compliant. Other treaties such as the START 1 treaty in 1991 and the New START treaty in 2011 aimed to further reduce both nations’ ballistic weapons capabilities.
But years earlier, in 1987, the United States and the Soviet Union had signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) to limit the scope and reach of all types of missiles. The Cold War ended in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall. The crisis ended peacefully however, both sides and the American public had fearfully braced for nuclear war and began to question the need for weapons that guaranteed “mutually assured destruction.” The tense Cuban Missile Crisis standoff ensued and came to a head as Kennedy and Khrushchev exchanged letters and made demands. intelligence observed missile bases under construction in Cuba, they enforced a blockade on the country and demanded the Soviet Union demolish the bases and remove any nuclear weapons. Kennedy administration’s failed attempt to overthrow Cuba’s premier Fidel Castro, and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev implemented a secret agreement to place Soviet warheads in Cuba to deter future coup attempts.Īfter U.S. The Cold War arms race came to a tipping point in 1962 after the John F. Over the next three decades, however, both countries grew their arsenals to well over 10,000 warheads. missile power was superior to that of the Soviet Union at the time. Many politicians used the Missile Gap as a talking point in the 1960 presidential election. This theory, known as the Missile Gap, was eventually disproved by the CIA but not before causing grave concern to U.S. Throughout the 1950s, the United States became convinced that the Soviet Union had better missile capability that, if launched, could not be defended against.
#EUROPEAN WAR 2 SPECIAL NUCLEAR FORCE SERIES#
space program to prevent being left behind.Īfter a series of mishaps and failures, the United States successfully launched its first satellite into space on January 31, 1958, and the Space Race continued as both countries researched new technology to create more powerful weapons and surveillance technologies. Eisenhower tried to tone down the rhetoric over the success of the launch, while he streamed federal funds into the U.S. The Soviet’s launch of the first Sputnik satellite on October 4, 1957, stunned and concerned the United States and the rest of the world, as it took the Cold War arms race soon became the Space Race. Four years later, both countries tested their first intercontinental ballistic missiles and the arms race rose to a terrifying new level. The United States responded in 1952 by testing the highly destructive hydrogen “superbomb,” and the Soviet Union followed suit in 1953. But in 1949, the Soviets tested their own atomic bomb, and the Cold War nuclear arms race was on. To help discourage Soviet communist expansion, the United States built more atomic weaponry. The United States cast a wary eye over the Soviet Union’s quest for world dominance as they expanded their power and influence over Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union resented the United States’ geopolitical interference and America’s own arms buildup.įurther fueling the flame of distrust, the United States didn’t tell the Soviet Union they planned to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, although the United States informed them they had created such a bomb. Though the United States and the Soviet Union were tentative allies during World War II, their alliance soured after Nazi Germany surrendered in May 1945. The conflict didn’t cause World War I, but it did help to increase distrust and tensions between Germany, Britain and other European powers. Germany couldn’t keep up, however, and Britain won the so-called Anglo-German Arms Race. Not to be outdone, Germany produced its own fleet of dreadnought-class warships, and the standoff continued with both sides fearing a naval attack from the other and building bigger and better ships. In turn, Britain further expanded the Royal Navy and built more advanced and powerful battlecruisers, including the 1906 HMS Dreadnought, a technically advanced type of warship that set the standard for naval architecture. But Germany had also drastically increased its military budget and might, building a large navy to contest Britain’s naval dominance in hopes of becoming a world power. In response, Great Britain shored up its Royal Navy to control the seas.īritain managed to work out its arms race with France and Russia with two separate treaties. In the late nineteenth century, France and Russia built powerful armies and challenged the spread of British colonialism. With the Industrial Revolution came new weaponry, including vastly improved warships.
0 kommentar(er)
