Launch of a Minuteman II ICBM from a silo at Vandenburg Air Force Base in California. Missile travels past cool smoke ring created by launch from tube.
The mobile ICBM concept was deemed the most viable in terms of providing survivability with the highest confidence. Numerous mobile deployment schemes were considered.
For example, one promising candidate was a system for carrying a missile on a large aircraft, such as the C-5 cargo plane, which would scramble upon warning of incoming missiles (a Minuteman was launched successfully from a C-5 in 1974 to validate this concept).
Last edited by a moderator: