Editing First strike (nuclear strategy) (section)

== Destabilizing role of land-based MIRVed ICBMs ==
[[File:Minuteman III Launch (6777470).jpg|thumb|A [[LGM-30 Minuteman|Minuteman III]] ICBM test launch from [[Vandenberg Space Force Base]], United States]]
[[Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle|MIRVed]] land-based ICBMs are generally considered suitable for a first strike or a counterforce strike, due to:
# Their high accuracy (small [[circular error probable]]), compared to submarine-launched ballistic missiles which used to be less accurate, and more prone to defects;
# Their fast response time, compared to bombers which are considered too slow;
# Their ability to carry multiple MIRV warheads at once, useful for destroying a whole missile field with one missile.

Unlike a [[decapitation strike]] or a [[countervalue strike]], a [[counterforce strike]] might result in a potentially more constrained retaliation. Though the Minuteman III of the mid-1960s was MIRVed with 3 warheads, heavily MIRVed vehicles threatened to upset the balance; these included the [[SS-18 Satan]] which was deployed in 1976, and was considered to threaten [[Minuteman III]] silos, which led some [[neoconservatives]] ("[[Team B]]") to conclude a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] first strike was being prepared for. This led to the development of the aforementioned [[Pershing II]], the [[Trident I]] and [[Trident II]], as well as the [[MX missile]], and the [[B-1 Lancer]].

MIRVed land-based [[ICBM]]s are considered destabilizing because they tend to put a premium on striking first. When a missile is MIRVed, it is able to carry many [[warhead]]s (up to 8 in existing U.S. missiles, limited by [[New START]], though Trident II is capable of carrying up to 12<ref>{{cite web |url=http://missilethreat.com/missiles/ugm-133-trident-d-5/ |title=UGM-133 Trident D-5 - Missile ThreatTrident 2 &#124; Missile Threat |access-date=2015-10-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151027084659/http://missilethreat.com/missiles/ugm-133-trident-d-5/ |archive-date=2015-10-27 }}</ref>) and deliver them to separate targets. If it is assumed that each side has 100 missiles, with 5 warheads each, and further that each side has a 95 percent chance of neutralizing the opponent's missiles in their silos by firing 2 warheads at each silo, then the attacking side can reduce the enemy ICBM force from 100 missiles to about 5 by firing 40 missiles with 200 warheads, and keeping the rest of 60 missiles in reserve. As such, this type of weapon was intended to be banned under the [[START II]] agreement, however the START II agreement was never activated, and neither Russia nor the US has adhered to the agreement.