Nuclear triad

A nuclear triad is a state's strategic force structure built around land-based missiles, submarine-launched missiles, and strategic bombers. The three legs provide distinct ways to deliver nuclear weapons.

Intercontinental ballistic missile: A long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a payload between continents. Land-based ICBMs form one leg of the triad and can launch rapidly from fixed or mobile sites.
Nuclear weapon: A weapon that releases energy through nuclear fission, fusion, or both. The triad organizes the delivery forces that carry nuclear weapons to targets.
Nuclear dyad: A nuclear force structure based on two delivery legs rather than a land-sea-air triad. A dyad lacks one of the triad's delivery modes, often because a state has not built or retained it.
United States nuclear arsenal: The nuclear weapons and delivery forces maintained by the United States. The United States maintains a long-standing triad of land-based missiles, ballistic-missile submarines, and bombers.
Submarine-launched ballistic missile: A ballistic missile designed for launch from a submarine. SLBMs give the sea-based leg a mobile launch platform that can remain hidden at sea.
Ballistic missile: A missile that follows a largely ballistic trajectory after its powered flight phase. Land- and submarine-launched ballistic missiles make up two of the triad's three legs.
Nuclear monad: A nuclear force structure that relies on a single delivery leg. A monad concentrates deterrent forces in one mode instead of distributing them across three.
Russian nuclear arsenal: The nuclear weapons and delivery forces maintained by Russia. Russia's strategic forces include all three delivery legs, with systems shaped by its own doctrine and geography.
Strategic bomber: A long-range aircraft designed to deliver weapons against distant targets. Bombers provide the air leg and can be recalled or redirected after takeoff.
Cruise missile: A guided missile that flies through the atmosphere under powered flight toward its target. Some strategic bombers carry nuclear cruise missiles, adding a stand-off option to the air leg.

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