im thinking that ICBMs would be immediately picked up upon radar from launch,and the country they are launched on would have time to react to stop them.
While a stealth bomber may be able to get closer to its target and drop its payload simply because of its low Radar signature. And the fact that the country wouldn't know of the payload simply from observation of the aircraft/radar signature.
I may be wrong, but like i said, ive done maybe 2% of research on what im asking.
No. Radar does not pick up an ICBM launch.. a satellite does. And that satellite has to be actively watching specific areas to catch the launch. Why do you think the US and USSR had a space program to begin with? The spy satellites were the only thing that could provide early warning.
ICBMs go up, exit the atmosphere, then ballistic towards target. About 3/4ths of the way in, they release their MIRV payloads (Multiple-Independent-Re.entry-vehicles) which are literally a half dozen or a dozen nuclear warheads with a guidance mechanism. These warheads re-enter the atmosphere heading to their particular targets.
On the radar screen you would see one blip become dozens spreading out. Given an ICBM would never be launched alone but in clusters so that it completely overwhelms any reaction/defenses...you get the idea.
Its extremely difficult to shoot down an ICBM because you'd have to intercept it on its way up. This happens over the territory of the nation that launches it. Thats why the US put so much stuff in alaska and eastern europe. On the way down its too late; youd have to intercept dozens of warheads per ICBM.
A bomber oth, has to fly inside the atmosphere at slow speeds (compared to the mach5+ an ICBM rocket flies at) and deliver its relatively small payload very close to target. That you can detect and intercept (or heck, the soviets even had defenses that consisted of detonating small nukes in mid atmosphere along the flight path of bombers to knock them down).
Stealth bombers arent invisible and undetectable. They are very expensive and very few. You cant saturate an enemy with it.
If you're thinking a surgical nuke strike... well, the current stealth bombers, submarine/ship launched tomahawks (there's nuke tipped ones) can do that too.
If all else fails, we can just ship them Snooky.
