Some of the world's most dangerous tools sit beneath the Wyoming countryside. "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl got an up-close look at the nation's nuclear arsenal.
Right, like there isn't internet access. And yeah they still use those old 8 inch floppies for the OS to boot. Right. So spoon fed ya'll will believe anything. Couldn't be an alternative or 2ndary system designed, built, installed, and staffed elsewhere. Just those silly chair people are the ONLY ones who can launch them missiles. Yeah.
@@jrregan I maintained the systems. Your suspicions are unfounded. REALLY smart people designed these fail safe systems and isolation of the controls was Rule 1; these systems weren't designed for what felt good. PS we provided the RUSSIANS with the details of these system designs so they would deploy them too and not accidentally launch a special smoking gift our way.
Yes but this is not true of course at least not on all missiles, some newer missiles could be moved off course and into the ocean. However it is true there is no way to disarm the warhead and even crashing one into the ocean could have serious consequences if it were to land near land or any ships in the area. However it does not really matter one way or another, because if one ever is launched, it will hit it's target and thankfully everyone understands the principal of mutually assured destruction. The only future use of nuclear missiles, that I can see happening would be preemptive. Also they would be tactical nuclear weapons that would be tipped on weapons like the M.O.P. or Massive Ordinance Penetrator, which is a bunker buster bomb. We already considered dropping these on Iran and North Korea and we have about 30 total M.O.P.'s that are a vital part of strike plans.
Just because other countries also have them does NOT mean these are not the most powerful weapon on the planet. Russia does NOT want these things landing on their heads. I doubt you will ever see a nuclear war between the 2 bigger powers.both sides know what the results will be. but if you are trying to say Russia's nukes are more powerful, they are not. They are ALL deadly. I worry about some 3rd world country getting ahold of one and starting a nuclear war.
Ridiculous. We bargained away the vastly more accurate MX missile, while Russia kept their SS-18 Satan behemoths with their enormous 25 megaton warheads - weapons of genocide
@@kystars Leaving out that Russia's Satan 2 is way more devastating than a minuteman 3. Oh and also this comment didn't age well given how close we are to nuclear war right now.
I served in the Minuteman Missile Silos like the ones shown in the 1970's....they are very safe and there are several procedures and fail--safe redundancies built into the system to prevent an unauthorized launch. It takes more than just the crew on duty to launch. The Air Force also has a very strict Personal reliability program in place that monitors each crew to make sure they are mentally fit to be able to do the "unthinkable" if the time ever came. Every missile system the U.S. has ever had since the early 60's has served as a DETERRANT to any rogue nation that would even think about launching an attack. There is a name for it...and that is MAD....Mutually Assured Destruction....So, look upon the Minuteman missile system as the "Tip of the Spear"....and with the missiles in those silo's we were victors in THE COLD WAR.
There's no more destructive weapon on this planet then the Minuteman missile. I was a Missile Facilities Specialist at Minot AFB in the '90s. The Russians or no other country in this world wants just 1 of these badboys dropped on them. When i served there were a lil over a 1000 of them but now with the cold war over, we've downsized to like 450. 1 missile is 20X more destructive then the Atom bomb and we got 450!! Go 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 PUTIN WHO 😂😂
@@johnathanamiker3738 Minuteman 3 is wayyyy less destructive than R36M2 with a significantly less range than R36, and now Russia already serial producting RS-28 which is even much more deadlier and also has Avangard glide vehicle which are The very best. The US is highly lacking in missile technology in most cases and not only ICBM. Even China has much better missiles than USA.
My Great grandfather dated Lesley Stahl in 1923 during their senior year in high school and he says she looks hotter now then when she was 17. Lesley's half life is at least par with the uranium warheads in those minutemen silos.
I live in Cheyenne Wyoming and they surround this whole area. Early in the morning you can hear on play reverly at 10 at night you can hear the base play Taps. I joke around that we don't have a police helicopter but we got the military helicopter that flies around town all the time. And I have to agree I'm glad they are there and let's hope we can keep them underground
hey there, how is it living in Wyoming? I know you live in a bigger city, but Wyoming is the least populated state we have. so much nature there. I would want to visit one day to just see the nature. much of the west is like this.
all the 'old' computer hardware you see is strictly for show. these systems are protected with technology that is at least 40 years ahead of civilian hardware/software, 100% closed and secure. unless you're physically there in person, you're not accessing the weapon. the nation's strategic nuclear reserve is secure. source: personal experience.
The most powerful Russian ICBM, NATO code named SS-18 Satan, has a single 25 megaton warhead in the mod 2 version. Back in 1961, the Soviet era Russians detonated a 25 megaton test blast and one of over 50 megatons. These warheads are so destructive that they have no real military value. They were more for psychological warfare than anything else. To compare, our most powerful ICBM, the Titan-II, had a single 9 megaton warhead. Titan-II was officially retired in 1987.
that's why they are called inter-continental BALLISTIC missles (like bullets). they cannot be recalled or redirected anymore than you can recall a bullet once fired.
The US has wasted trillions of dollars on nuclear weapons since the 40s '' What a disgrace and a shame when that money could have not been spent or been spent on something more productive in our society Example social programs roads and bridges'' education paying down the debt Social security free Medical cradle to grave for the US population Use your imagination etc'' Most of the nuclear arms were retired anyway and we now have a huge clean up and storage problem'' This all make me feel sick'' And nobody talks about the true financial cost to our society of nuclear arms''
+11maxed11 You can go literally see some of them off of I25. It's not a big deal. They are the last fail safe. There are numerous newer systems (star wars) that we will never know about because of the ethical issues regarding the militarization of space.
+11maxed11 Surely you don't think silos are secrets do you? Soviet and Russian spy satellites have known their locations since they were built. You can see them via google earth now. Hell, one of them is now a tourist attraction. Check this out. www.google.com/maps/dir///@43.9314912,-102.1600569,151m/data=!3m1!1e3 Ironically enough, the silo cover has been partially removed, and glass panels have been installed, so that spy satellites can look into the silo to determine that it is, in fact, deactivated, and showing the world that we are not cheating on different weapon treaties.
Reformed Catholic yeah I was thinking about that after I posted. Was thinking maybe it is actually a bad idea because if it were to be hacked, it could just be disabled , example: Iran hacking one of our drones. So maybe it's good that there isn't.
Malmstrom 78-82, MCCC, it sure wasn't glamorous. But, we were proud to do it for the country. But, remember those days were during the Cold War. Nowadays, I think the crew force has doubts about the validity of the "threat". I hope they get their beliefs restored and carry on the protection of the country.
Zane Shute yes the George Washington (598) class and Ethan Allen (608) class weren’t capable of being upgraded to Poseidon I believe the missile tubes were not big enough
Hours and hours of sheer boredom, 60 hours of training every week at sea, maintenance and qualifying as a nuke and to get your Dolphins I toured the USS Pennsylvania about 10 years ago basically the same as my old boat just MUCH BIGGER, Reactor a different design I believe the Pennsylvania set a new record several years ago with 150 days continually submerged on patrol
I could be wrong but I believe our Minuteman 3 missiles used to have 3 warheads , but nowadays because of treaties and whatnot every missile only has 1 warhead. Still an unimaginable amount of destructive power since we have 450 of them in silos in the midwest. I believe the Trident missiles that are on our submarines do have multiple warheads, though.
@@joshy_b_823, yeah there were treaties but we all know it doesn't matter. America has more than enough. What matters is our enemies have enough sense to keep the peace.
@@JTDyer21 yes indeed. The US’s philosophy is “peace through deterrence”. They all know what we have, and they know if they ever launched a missile against us that our response to it would wipe them off the map very quickly. They know better.
@@joshy_b_823 The "Trident" also has three warheads (hence the name), each of which has a yield of 330KT. The GPS system reduced submarine-launched (SLBM) missiles' CEP to a few meters, allowing the warhead to be down-sized.
She was wrong about 30000 Minuteman missiles. I served in the '90s and the most we ever had was a lil over 1000 Minuteman missiles. She probably meant all of the nuclear weapons together including air and sea. It only takes 1 Minuteman to cause mass destruction. 20X more powerful then the Atom bomb. Go 🇺🇸 🇺🇸
Generals were worried that launch officers would refuse to launch. They installed a back door to remotely launch using a UHF digital radio modem. It's super hackable.
She never saw an 8 inch floppy before at her age? One thing is for sure, you won't be booting your IBM 3274-51c terminal controller without the 8 inch disk, now will you?
You're 100% right. You don't need a 10" screen on the dashboard of a 1959 Ford Fairlane 500, playing mp3 music and telling you where you are with GPS. It has everything it possibly needs to work exactly as designed. So does the MinuteMan III.
During the 80s in the state of Arkansas where I lived after my dad retired from the Airforce they had 18 Titan 2 missles just North of the State Capital of Little Rock Arkansas.
Just in case you all don’t know Robert Salas just went before our congress & said he was present when a glowing object in the sky rendered one of these inoperable.
I remember Sputnik as a child and the pure terror it instilled in Americans. We soon had Atlas and Titan missiles up and ready but the time from a launch command to missile away was measured in tens of hours. A lot of damage can be done by a first strike nuclear attack in tens of hours. I also remember the collective sigh of relief when the American public learned we had a new missile that could launch in 58 seconds. I swore I'd work on that weapon system one day as a child and I did exactly that 1974-1978 at Whiteman..
Once they're gone they're gone that is completely not true that is a 100% lie. They do have the capability of self destruct anytime anywhere in the sky.
Afaik, the communication system of the minuteman 3 is on the first interstage so it is dropped when the first stage seperates about two minutes after launch. Can't really self destruct when it's unable to receive any instructions from anywhere.
@@destroyer1667 I going to be completely honest with you there's no possible way that you'd actually really know that now would you. They're not going to let people know anything about what they can and can do with the missile. They're going to make people believe whatever they want, but the facts are they have full control over this thing from start to finish. The only way you'd possibly know is if you actually design the system yourself. Or you were in charge of any system upgrades. Wikipedia is not your friend.
@@patman0250 while the public information on the system may not be entirely accurate, having a remote self destruct system in such a Missile is very risky. They take about 20-30 minutes to reach their targets so if the enemy figures out the right frequency and password to send instructions to it, they could just disable them all mid-flight.
@@destroyer1667 If, maybe, could, couldn't, can, can't, all those terms are completely irrelevant. When it comes to 21st century nuclear weapons technology. I highly doubt they'll ever publicize the capabilities to the most deadliest bomb on earth.
Ever heard of Mutual Assured Destruction or MAD? Mutual assured destruction is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender. Makes you think, doesn't it?
There's a bunch, check Google, the exact locations are publicized! The USAF is very proud of them and you can literally drive right up to every single site! Just don't try to get inside, you will meet some unhappy people with rifles soon!
Maybe deadliest weapon on the planet now. On our side. The Russians made bombs WAY bigger than ours! Plus the Titan 2 had a MUCH larger warhead at 9 Megatons. The Minuteman 3 has several 300 kiloton warheads that are waaaaaayyyyyy smaller.
Yup, but it's just varying degrees of overkill at that point. You don't need a 50MT bomb to demolish a military base, army or fleet. Having several smaller warheads that can hit different targets and are harder to intercept while still having the power to destroy anything they are aimed at is more efficent
It's hard to say "puny" when in comes to thermonuclear weapons - but the Minuteman is just that compared to the Russian SS-18 "Satan" and soon to be SS-30 "Satan 2". It's a good thing we have plenty of (SLBM) Trident missiles.
The most powerful bomb ever dropped as a test from an aircraft was a deliberately "reduced yield" Soviet 100 megaton design. See "Tsar Bomba". Its actual blast was 50 megaton, because by using lead instead of depleted uranium for the fusion tamper, they left out the third stage fission of "non-fissile" uranium 238. That way, the crew of the bomber lived to go home again.
I’ll only make 1 comment. We will for now use older tech for safety reasons. BUT today if it’s launched it can be stopped mid flight. So if someone somehow launched one. And someone said. Oops. We do have options to stop it before it hits its target
You don't want a genius in there who will over think everything, and on the other hand you don't want someone very pliable. You want someone who will follow orders without hesitation and then go to sleep and get up to do it again.
i wonder what's the radius that one of those missiles can totally demolish, I just hope that they would never have to use them on another country because a whole lot of innocent people will feel the hands of evil
The reason these missile sites are so visible is that we want the bad actors to know we have them and that they are super-hardened to handle all but a direct ground-detonated hit from an enemy nuke. We'd only hide the missiles if we were planning a first strike. We aren't. To her question about "accidental launch."; if the first stage could be ignited by a bad actor the missile would go straight up out of control without a target designated and result in a conventional explosion. While the nuke would be temporarily out of our control, there would be fire crews on site immediately to extinguish the fire and secure the payload. If a bad actor is ever detected, all dispatched personnel know how to ensure the conventional explosion stays in the hole rather than ruining dinner for farmer Jones up the road.
@@albertrogers2506 Sophisticated "war plans" exist with the intention of dealing with any attack scenario by any actor. The war order to launch results in the loading of the targeting data in a subset of missiles immediately prior to launch.
Small in comparison to titan 2 missile 285 ft tall filled with warheads triple the size of a plain warheads at least with the max or even over the max that's unclear since it was demilitarized
Surely the missile flies too fast to make a wireless data connection practical. If so, the navigation and target parameters are programmed before the launch and the missile just goes where it was told to. No way to remotely "call it back." Whoever's on the receiving end of it is fucked. However, knowing that it is almost guaranteed to explode on landing, would you really want it returning to sender anyway?
You think NASA uses really long CAT6 twisted pair wiring to communicate with really fast moving craft? Wireless is nothing but radio receiver/transmitter. The design is such that an enemy cannot transmit a self destruct signal. It's impossible to send a launch signal because it IS directly wired & can only be activated by a proper launch authority.
Of course. The parameters are programmed on the ground. Some missiles have GPS as well as a compass, gyros, altimeter, and flight timers. Think the V1 and V2 rockets but with GPS. Even if you jam the GPS signal somehow, it will rely on other sensors and instruments to fly relatively close to its course. And if it is delivering a nuke, the margin for error swells to at least ten miles wide, maybe more.
I really hope they continue to allow absolutely zero access to the internet.
@Mealwhiles I feel better knowing that cannot happen.
Right, like there isn't internet access. And yeah they still use those old 8 inch floppies for the OS to boot. Right. So spoon fed ya'll will believe anything. Couldn't be an alternative or 2ndary system designed, built, installed, and staffed elsewhere. Just those silly chair people are the ONLY ones who can launch them missiles. Yeah.
@@jrregan Following your logic, you might as well just start practicing solipsism.
@@jrregan I maintained the systems. Your suspicions are unfounded. REALLY smart people designed these fail safe systems and isolation of the controls was Rule 1; these systems weren't designed for what felt good. PS we provided the RUSSIANS with the details of these system designs so they would deploy them too and not accidentally launch a special smoking gift our way.
They do. It’s all old school. It’ll never change
I love the way he tells her "once there gone there gone "
Yes but this is not true of course at least not on all missiles, some newer missiles could be moved off course and into the ocean. However it is true there is no way to disarm the warhead and even crashing one into the ocean could have serious consequences if it were to land near land or any ships in the area. However it does not really matter one way or another, because if one ever is launched, it will hit it's target and thankfully everyone understands the principal of mutually assured destruction. The only future use of nuclear missiles, that I can see happening would be preemptive. Also they would be tactical nuclear weapons that would be tipped on weapons like the M.O.P. or Massive Ordinance Penetrator, which is a bunker buster bomb. We already considered dropping these on Iran and North Korea and we have about 30 total M.O.P.'s that are a vital part of strike plans.
no one spell checks typing on a cell phone for a TH-cam comment, we don’t need to proof read this, it’s not a newspaper article. Get a life 👍🏽
@@patricksmith2553 you think Putin cares about mutually assured destruction?
we are close to a full scale war ww3
It's called "missile away" and if it can be recalled then it can be hacked. Thats why there's no recall capability.
@@TheMrTTT good point
I think it's important to note that the inability to deactivate a missile after launch is part of the nuclear deterrent.
How about the fact that our tech is still from the 60s while Russia and China have continued to upgrade theirs several times?
I wouldn’t be so sure about Russia and China upgrading, no one wants cyberattacks on nuclear facilities
@@FerociousPancake888No one tell bro about the several missile launch failures in a row
If the USA is using 8-inch floppy disks, North Korea surely is using punched cards.
+Miguel Luna The thing is, even russians use this technology.. It's simply because they were never upgraded since they were built...
abacus maybe..
Miguel Luna more like pulleys and cranks
..or maybe kim jong un has Nokor's nuclear launch codes set up in his android phone.
👘 THRILLER MIchael JACKSON HISTORY
8 inch floppy disk...
Guys you're clear to launch:
A:>LAUNCHNK.BAT
General Error reading drive A:
(A)bort, (R)etry or (F)ail ? _
ha ha ha, cool
Syntax error!
Correct entry would be:
A:\>LAUNCHNK.BAT
i hope that when thay press enter the response will be:
Bad command of file name
:D
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!!
LMAO. Oh CRAP! A:> C:
C:> rescue.bat!!!!!!
Her: “The most powerful weapon in the planet”
Putin: hold my vodka
Hold my Svedka
Duterte: Hold my Gun,.
Just because other countries also have them does NOT mean these are not the most powerful weapon on the planet. Russia does NOT want these things landing on their heads. I doubt you will ever see a nuclear war between the 2 bigger powers.both sides know what the results will be. but if you are trying to say Russia's nukes are more powerful, they are not. They are ALL deadly. I worry about some 3rd world country getting ahold of one and starting a nuclear war.
Ridiculous. We bargained away the vastly more accurate MX missile, while Russia kept their SS-18 Satan behemoths with their enormous 25 megaton warheads - weapons of genocide
@@kystars Leaving out that Russia's Satan 2 is way more devastating than a minuteman 3. Oh and also this comment didn't age well given how close we are to nuclear war right now.
I served in the Minuteman Missile Silos like the ones shown in the 1970's....they are very safe and there are several procedures and fail--safe redundancies built into the system to prevent an unauthorized launch. It takes more than just the crew on duty to launch. The Air Force also has a very strict Personal reliability program in place that monitors each crew to make sure they are mentally fit to be able to do the "unthinkable" if the time ever came. Every missile system the U.S. has ever had since the early 60's has served as a DETERRANT to any rogue nation that would even think about launching an attack. There is a name for it...and that is MAD....Mutually Assured Destruction....So, look upon the Minuteman missile system as the "Tip of the Spear"....and with the missiles in those silo's we were victors in THE COLD WAR.
Jim West Thank You Sir For Your Service and God Bless America !
You just can't ignore that Russia has even more powerful weapons.
There's no more destructive weapon on this planet then the Minuteman missile. I was a Missile Facilities Specialist at Minot AFB in the '90s. The Russians or no other country in this world wants just 1 of these badboys dropped on them. When i served there were a lil over a 1000 of them but now with the cold war over, we've downsized to like 450. 1 missile is 20X more destructive then the Atom bomb and we got 450!! Go 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 PUTIN WHO 😂😂
@@johnathanamiker3738 Minuteman 3 is wayyyy less destructive than R36M2 with a significantly less range than R36, and now Russia already serial producting RS-28 which is even much more deadlier and also has Avangard glide vehicle which are The very best. The US is highly lacking in missile technology in most cases and not only ICBM. Even China has much better missiles than USA.
@Brian Woodrow that's what the SSBNs are for
My Great grandfather dated Lesley Stahl in 1923 during their senior year in high school and he says she looks hotter now then when she was 17. Lesley's half life is at least par with the uranium warheads in those minutemen silos.
🤣🤣🤣
Dude if she was a senior in 23 she'd be atleast 100 years old now.
@@TheWiery322 im pretty sure this a joke
@@lemon2742 I probably commented this high. Doesn't count.
Gross
If you watch closely she hits her head on the tunnel junction at 2:20.
I've hit my head on that so many times its not even funny... -_-
if I'm 5 foot will i hit my head? lol
yes
No she doesn't
Your very very observant. Keep up the good work.
2:21 She cracks her head. Now all that we need to do is add in the Star Wars soundtrack of the storm trooper hitting his head and we're all good.
@@LauRoot892 Just outside of Atlanta, Georgia...
@@user-tb2jy9lu3d How old are you ? What social media you got ? Nice 😊 meeting ya 😃🇺🇸💕
@@user-tb2jy9lu3d Ugh 😑
He meant to say “once they’re gone, we’re gone”. Scary.
Hmm 🤔
along with the russians and/or chinese.
I live in Cheyenne Wyoming and they surround this whole area. Early in the morning you can hear on play reverly at 10 at night you can hear the base play Taps. I joke around that we don't have a police helicopter but we got the military helicopter that flies around town all the time. And I have to agree I'm glad they are there and let's hope we can keep them underground
hey there, how is it living in Wyoming? I know you live in a bigger city, but Wyoming is the least populated state we have. so much nature there. I would want to visit one day to just see the nature. much of the west is like this.
@@kystars Cheyenne is desolate, surrounded by windswept, treeless prairie.
all the 'old' computer hardware you see is strictly for show. these systems are protected with technology that is at least 40 years ahead of civilian hardware/software, 100% closed and secure. unless you're physically there in person, you're not accessing the weapon. the nation's strategic nuclear reserve is secure. source: personal experience.
Sure thing Tex 🤦🏻♂️
@Brian Woodrow Where ya from ??😁
I sleep good at night knowing our Minuteman missiles are ready to fly
Our*
Have you heard those who live by the sword also die by the sword
@@georgebritten8208 I corrected it thanks for the help
@@sameerrazaali3777 no I'm sorry I've never heard of that
The most powerful Russian ICBM, NATO code named SS-18 Satan, has a single 25 megaton warhead in the mod 2 version. Back in 1961, the Soviet era Russians detonated a 25 megaton test blast and one of over 50 megatons. These warheads are so destructive that they have no real military value. They were more for psychological warfare than anything else. To compare, our most powerful ICBM, the Titan-II, had a single 9 megaton warhead. Titan-II was officially retired in 1987.
today Russia built underwater drone Poseidon, with warhead of 100mT enriched with Cobalt for extra radiation.
@@uroskostic8570That weapon is a joke, if it even exists at all
" Once their gone..their gone "...blood curdling words...
Where ya from ??😁
that's why they are called inter-continental BALLISTIC missles (like bullets). they cannot be recalled or redirected anymore than you can recall a bullet once fired.
The US has wasted trillions of dollars on nuclear weapons since the 40s '' What a disgrace and a shame when that money could have not been spent or been spent on something more productive in our society Example social programs roads and bridges'' education paying down the debt Social security free Medical cradle to grave for the US population Use your imagination etc'' Most of the nuclear arms were retired anyway and we now have a huge clean up and storage problem'' This all make me feel sick'' And nobody talks about the true financial cost to our society of nuclear arms''
Where ya from ??
Keep it that way! Old skool is the best!
@Skrittles : Quite natural you were not around during the Cold War. Remember the SALT talks of the 70s. -Goofy Kid
There's a farm of about 40 of them on the Pawnee National Grassland just across the border in Colorado.
"Once they're gone they're gone"
Imagine all the energy and resources spent on both sides for these weapons that are only useful if they aren't used.
it's totally okay to show and describe the place of a nuclear silo
totally okay
+11maxed11 You can go literally see some of them off of I25. It's not a big deal. They are the last fail safe. There are numerous newer systems (star wars) that we will never know about because of the ethical issues regarding the militarization of space.
+11maxed11
Surely you don't think silos are secrets do you? Soviet and Russian spy satellites have known their locations since they were built. You can see them via google earth now. Hell, one of them is now a tourist attraction.
Check this out.
www.google.com/maps/dir///@43.9314912,-102.1600569,151m/data=!3m1!1e3
Ironically enough, the silo cover has been partially removed, and glass panels have been installed, so that spy satellites can look into the silo to determine that it is, in fact, deactivated, and showing the world that we are not cheating on different weapon treaties.
Human not very care about they country,! They just care about who become president. uses all human become weapons.
Thats the thing tho if they're close to a rural community its not a secret.
NBC news today: CBS station gets swatted for leaking US nuclear top secret info lol jk of course
Nice way to scare the shit out of people who don't really understand what they are looking at.
The Mediacrats take pride in it!
ImyurZero So Kim jong un from North Korea
Man it makes me miss the days I did that job... former Missiler here!
so is it true what he said there's no ability to disarm it once it's fired? That seems a bit ... messed up.
Reformed Catholic yeah I was thinking about that after I posted. Was thinking maybe it is actually a bad idea because if it were to be hacked, it could just be disabled , example: Iran hacking one of our drones. So maybe it's good that there isn't.
an accidental launch is nigh impossible so no need for a recall / destruct.
cuafpr EMT ‘85-‘89 FE Warren, brother. Missile duty sure wasn’t the most glorifying!
Malmstrom 78-82, MCCC, it sure wasn't glamorous. But, we were proud to do it for the country. But, remember those days were during the Cold War. Nowadays, I think the crew force has doubts about the validity of the "threat". I hope they get their beliefs restored and carry on the protection of the country.
I was fortunate enough to go and see an actual nuclear missile back in the early nineties up close
Nancy Fontain I was unfortunate enough to see them several times a week when I worked on them back in the 80s. Cool until it’s your everyday job😉!
@@jimbutke Are you an x-man now after working around all that plutonium? Come on now, we need to know these things
They only tell you what they want you to know what you think you need to know from Leslie
If it works, it works. No need to reinvent the wheel.
Guided Missiles without proper amount of bermuth, little lemon 🍋 and of course, don't forget SALT, little umbrella and a cute Model.
Where ya from ??😁
This is nuts they need to have a disarm feature
If it has a disarm feature, it could be hacked. That's too risky.
14 SSBN’s with 24 missiles and 8+ MIRV’s I was on the Robert E Lee with 16 missiles and 3 MRV’s each and she was the 4th of 41 SSBN’s
Polaris boat?
Zane Shute yes the George Washington (598) class and Ethan Allen (608) class weren’t capable of being upgraded to Poseidon I believe the missile tubes were not big enough
@@clearingbaffles That's a pretty interesting workplace then. Did you like what you did?
Hours and hours of sheer boredom, 60 hours of training every week at sea, maintenance and qualifying as a nuke and to get your Dolphins
I toured the USS Pennsylvania about 10 years ago basically the same as my old boat just MUCH BIGGER, Reactor a different design I believe the Pennsylvania set a new record several years ago with 150 days continually submerged on patrol
Really awsome missiles you had on your boat. I cant deny the fact that I find these weapons super fascinating...
We probably couldn’t afford to upgrade that stuff.
Dunn 😒
Remember that each missle carries around 8 - 10 warheads each. So thats 4,500 warheads just for the land based missiles alone.
I could be wrong but I believe our Minuteman 3 missiles used to have 3 warheads , but nowadays because of treaties and whatnot every missile only has 1 warhead. Still an unimaginable amount of destructive power since we have 450 of them in silos in the midwest. I believe the Trident missiles that are on our submarines do have multiple warheads, though.
@@joshy_b_823, yeah there were treaties but we all know it doesn't matter. America has more than enough. What matters is our enemies have enough sense to keep the peace.
@@JTDyer21 yes indeed. The US’s philosophy is “peace through deterrence”. They all know what we have, and they know if they ever launched a missile against us that our response to it would wipe them off the map very quickly. They know better.
The minuteman can only carry 3, but only have 1 now due to arms reduction treaties.
@@joshy_b_823 The "Trident" also has three warheads (hence the name), each of which has a yield of 330KT. The GPS system reduced submarine-launched (SLBM) missiles' CEP to a few meters, allowing the warhead to be down-sized.
One nuclear missle landing on a major city would destroy our country. Shoot, one well placed conventional bomb cound upend our fragile society.
Senior 🙂
"450 down from 30 thousand" say what?
She was wrong about 30000 Minuteman missiles. I served in the '90s and the most we ever had was a lil over 1000 Minuteman missiles. She probably meant all of the nuclear weapons together including air and sea. It only takes 1 Minuteman to cause mass destruction. 20X more powerful then the Atom bomb. Go 🇺🇸 🇺🇸
It's a safe weapon...
...oh the irony
Treizez34 that only means it’s impossible for it to go off unless we want it to
Treizez34 lol Nice weapons. Wow. So happy I’m American. 🇺🇸 Nice!
Generals were worried that launch officers would refuse to launch. They installed a back door to remotely launch using a UHF digital radio modem. It's super hackable.
Ngl, I got chills when he said there’s no way to turn them in case of ceasefire.
She never saw an 8 inch floppy before at her age? One thing is for sure, you won't be booting your IBM 3274-51c terminal controller without the 8 inch disk, now will you?
God bless the USA! 🇺🇸
More like God Forgive us.
No!
“Glad we never have you use them” 8 years later
Aged like milk :’)
All the people commenting on old technology. Do you really want our nuclear weapons available to the Internet?
You're 100% right. You don't need a 10" screen on the dashboard of a 1959 Ford Fairlane 500, playing mp3 music and telling you where you are with GPS. It has everything it possibly needs to work exactly as designed. So does the MinuteMan III.
Excellent report. Brought me back to the paranoid self I used to be.
Don't be freaked out
During the 80s in the state of Arkansas where I lived after my dad retired from the Airforce they had 18 Titan 2 missles just North of the State Capital of Little Rock Arkansas.
well best be knocking dust off them and get them warmed up
Scott 🙄
Just in case you all don’t know Robert Salas just went before our congress & said he was present when a glowing object in the sky rendered one of these inoperable.
if it ain't broke, don't fix it
The REALLY great equalizer. 😎
Where ya from ??😁
I hope that the only place where we will be usign nukes will be in the video games.
Thank you for your service
You're welcome
"We was surprised"
Where ya from ??😁
A simple magnet placed on that 7" disk will scramble all its data!
Where ya from ??😁
LOVE Leslie Stahl’s hairstyle - compliments her outfit NICELY!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
When the war erupt The creation of the nuclear bombs is the literal embodiment of the phrase, " I've won, but at what cost?
I remember Sputnik as a child and the pure terror it instilled in Americans. We soon had Atlas and Titan missiles up and ready but the time from a launch command to missile away was measured in tens of hours. A lot of damage can be done by a first strike nuclear attack in tens of hours. I also remember the collective sigh of relief when the American public learned we had a new missile that could launch in 58 seconds. I swore I'd work on that weapon system one day as a child and I did exactly that 1974-1978 at Whiteman..
"They use floppies you've never seen" ...as i look at the box of 8-inch floppies on the shelf :) lol
Once they're gone they're gone that is completely not true that is a 100% lie. They do have the capability of self destruct anytime anywhere in the sky.
Afaik, the communication system of the minuteman 3 is on the first interstage so it is dropped when the first stage seperates about two minutes after launch. Can't really self destruct when it's unable to receive any instructions from anywhere.
@@destroyer1667 I going to be completely honest with you there's no possible way that you'd actually really know that now would you. They're not going to let people know anything about what they can and can do with the missile. They're going to make people believe whatever they want, but the facts are they have full control over this thing from start to finish. The only way you'd possibly know is if you actually design the system yourself. Or you were in charge of any system upgrades. Wikipedia is not your friend.
@@patman0250 while the public information on the system may not be entirely accurate, having a remote self destruct system in such a Missile is very risky. They take about 20-30 minutes to reach their targets so if the enemy figures out the right frequency and password to send instructions to it, they could just disable them all mid-flight.
@@destroyer1667 If, maybe, could, couldn't, can, can't, all those terms are completely irrelevant. When it comes to 21st century nuclear weapons technology. I highly doubt they'll ever publicize the capabilities to the most deadliest bomb on earth.
@@patman0250 Ugh 😑
Ever heard of Mutual Assured Destruction or MAD? Mutual assured destruction is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender. Makes you think, doesn't it?
Imagine how many other “sites” there are? The media should not have access to this.
There's a bunch, check Google, the exact locations are publicized! The USAF is very proud of them and you can literally drive right up to every single site! Just don't try to get inside, you will meet some unhappy people with rifles soon!
Interesting but scary..
Maybe deadliest weapon on the planet now. On our side. The Russians made bombs WAY bigger than ours! Plus the Titan 2 had a MUCH larger warhead at 9 Megatons. The Minuteman 3 has several 300 kiloton warheads that are waaaaaayyyyyy smaller.
Yup, but it's just varying degrees of overkill at that point. You don't need a 50MT bomb to demolish a military base, army or fleet. Having several smaller warheads that can hit different targets and are harder to intercept while still having the power to destroy anything they are aimed at is more efficent
Ken 🙂
She sounds totally lost and like she just read a fact sheets and is trying to remember the answers. What a joke.
Where ya from ??😁
It is a deterrent that keeps the world safe until now. God Bless America!
If they show this then there are new totally new ones that’s aren’t known about. No reason the world needs a weapon like this.
@@firstlast9731 You missed the point. The world doesn't need weapons like this.
I quote from watch dogs, this old school software the police can't trace
It's hard to say "puny" when in comes to thermonuclear weapons - but the Minuteman is just that compared to the Russian SS-18 "Satan" and soon to be SS-30 "Satan 2". It's a good thing we have plenty of (SLBM) Trident missiles.
Eric M Russia makes them big because they’re not as accurate.
@@jimbutke They would just carpet bomb the suburbs with the MIRVs, but now they also have good guidance. You do more damage with MIRVs.
Abram Carroll my knowledge is a little old. I worked on these sites in the 80s in Wyoming.
The most powerful bomb ever dropped as a test from an aircraft was a deliberately "reduced yield" Soviet 100 megaton design. See "Tsar Bomba". Its actual blast was 50 megaton, because by using lead instead of depleted uranium for the fusion tamper, they left out the third stage fission of "non-fissile" uranium 238. That way, the crew of the bomber lived to go home again.
@@LauRoot892 what?
lol its a firecracker single 350kt warhead compared to Russia's RS-28. 10-15 MIRV's or single 30-50MT warhead.
Bob😑
I’ll only make 1 comment.
We will for now use older tech for safety reasons. BUT today if it’s launched it can be stopped mid flight.
So if someone somehow launched one. And someone said. Oops.
We do have options to stop it before it hits its target
Are they safe from Yellowstone
They can't hack the old computer
The people they put here in this show to talk about Nuclear is the problem with USA.
Why is everything outdated tech, lady go watch every terminator movie to get the answer
Where ya from. ?
Anyone know if the full report is out there somewhere? This is only a preview apparently.
Doc 🙃
Yeah we’re f**cked
We went inside a missle silo in the n west,I wouldn't say the name of the place because the enemy may be looking¬ know,those silos, Are SCARY!!!
Where ya from ??😁
Leslie Stahl...her story telling makes you think it's all fake
You don't want a genius in there who will over think everything, and on the other hand you don't want someone very pliable. You want someone who will follow orders without hesitation and then go to sleep and get up to do it again.
I used to work on them.
i wonder what's the radius that one of those missiles can totally demolish, I just hope that they would never have to use them on another country because a whole lot of innocent people will feel the hands of evil
Her ignorance is stunning
I have a question? Can they “decommission" a missile safely?
Yes. I've helped remove a few warheads in my day when i served. The security around the movement of these weapons is like the president.
Dead end is right👍👍
Thank god we keep all ours on subs hidden deep under the oceans around the world
These silos are also hidden
Its a trick that they are on disaplay
The reason these missile sites are so visible is that we want the bad actors to know we have them and that they are super-hardened to handle all but a direct ground-detonated hit from an enemy nuke. We'd only hide the missiles if we were planning a first strike. We aren't. To her question about "accidental launch."; if the first stage could be ignited by a bad actor the missile would go straight up out of control without a target designated and result in a conventional explosion. While the nuke would be temporarily out of our control, there would be fire crews on site immediately to extinguish the fire and secure the payload. If a bad actor is ever detected, all dispatched personnel know how to ensure the conventional explosion stays in the hole rather than ruining dinner for farmer Jones up the road.
If that were so, how is the target determined?
@@albertrogers2506 Sophisticated "war plans" exist with the intention of dealing with any attack scenario by any actor. The war order to launch results in the loading of the targeting data in a subset of missiles immediately prior to launch.
Oldschool launch system
Where ya from ??😁
Someone dropped a bomb on the Gap band and they wrote a song about it.
They sell tickets in Nebraska
Once it's gone, we can shoot it down also..
The most powerful bomb in the planet *
Laughs in TSAR BOMBA
but the Tsar can't be deployed on a missile nor carried far by the big (modified) bomber that dropped it, pure chest thumping.
Why put out such sensitive information. Smh
She is happy “that they are there” did anyone tell her how many are pointed at her from Russia and other countries as she speaks?
"But I'm glad to know that they exist." Some people don't understand that if just one goes off, the planet is toast.
it would take more than one....
cuafpr One launched by US, one by Russia, by China, by UK ... and the planet is gone.
All you need is to knock down a single domino and the landscape is shattered
I keep thinking on that part GLAD TO KNOW THAT THEY EXIST...
+mmiiki
Ummm... no. If that was true, Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have toasted the planet... which they evidently didn't.
These missiles reminds me of the Trojans. Long on Game, short on delivery.
Call the missle back? What a stunad.
Small in comparison to titan 2 missile 285 ft tall filled with warheads triple the size of a plain warheads at least with the max or even over the max that's unclear since it was demilitarized
Surely the missile flies too fast to make a wireless data connection practical. If so, the navigation and target parameters are programmed before the launch and the missile just goes where it was told to. No way to remotely "call it back." Whoever's on the receiving end of it is fucked. However, knowing that it is almost guaranteed to explode on landing, would you really want it returning to sender anyway?
You think NASA uses really long CAT6 twisted pair wiring to communicate with really fast moving craft? Wireless is nothing but radio receiver/transmitter. The design is such that an enemy cannot transmit a self destruct signal. It's impossible to send a launch signal because it IS directly wired & can only be activated by a proper launch authority.
Of course. The parameters are programmed on the ground. Some missiles have GPS as well as a compass, gyros, altimeter, and flight timers. Think the V1 and V2 rockets but with GPS. Even if you jam the GPS signal somehow, it will rely on other sensors and instruments to fly relatively close to its course. And if it is delivering a nuke, the margin for error swells to at least ten miles wide, maybe more.
@@micahnightwolf Ugh 😑
There's a video about on hidden farms with nuclear missiles in it
Don't Copy That Floppy
Russia has there own missile pointed at that as well
Tim R US is #1 in nuclear weapons Russia is #2.
@@corygriffiths4715 You sure 😁
Why showing to people where this kind of weapons is hidden ?
Don't put your weapons away it should be made the biggest in the world
Why in the world are we constantly giving road maps to the Islam.
Be good peace inspite of stupid action.