The Cold War missile that would have scorched the earth before even detonating
In short: During the early 1960s, the United States developed SLAM, a nuclear-powered missile designed to fly at supersonic speeds near ground level. This video explores the terrifying mechanics of a weapon that would have left an irradiated trail of destruction long before reaching its final target.
The Supersonic Low-Altitude Missile, or SLAM, was a project of immense scale, described as being the size of a railroad locomotive. Capable of traveling at three times the speed of sound, the missile was designed to be virtually impossible to detect or intercept. Its nuclear engine would have generated a superheated shockwave, shattering windows and scorching the landscape beneath its flight path while simultaneously spreading radioactive fallout.
Upon reaching its destination, the weapon was intended to deploy twenty-six 10-megaton thermonuclear warheads. This payload represented over 5,000 times the explosive force of the atomic bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The project serves as a stark reminder of how close Cold War military development came to creating a literal doomsday device.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Nightmarish Nuclear Powered Doomsday Missile
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