# Prompt launch > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Prompt_launch > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Prompt_launch.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prompt_launch > Source revision: 1321929477 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Nuclear combat readiness state}} '''Prompt-launch''' status and '''delayed launch''' status are generic classifications of [combat readiness](/source/combat_readiness) applied to describe [nuclear](/source/nuclear_weapon)-armed missiles. ==Prompt-launch vs delayed launch== [[File:Minuteman3launch.jpg|thumb|Almost all deployed U.S. nuclear-armed missiles, such as the [Minuteman III](/source/Minuteman_III) (''pictured''), are kept at a prompt-launch status.]] Prompt-launch, colloquially known as "hair trigger alert", is a state of combat readiness during which nuclear-armed missiles can be launched immediately upon receipt of a firing order, with no or minimal preparations.{{cite journal|last1=Coté|first1=Owen|title=The Trident and the Triad: Collecting the D-5 Dividend|journal=[International Security](/source/international_Security_(journal))|date=1991|volume=16|issue=2|pages=117–145|doi=10.2307/2539062|jstor=2539062|s2cid=153840036}} Keeping weapons systems at a prompt-launch status allows a nation-state to [launch on warning](/source/launch_on_warning), thereby increasing the likelihood it could successfully retaliate against an attack, or initiate a nuclear first strike without alerting an enemy. Even for states that have proscribed launch on warning or first strike, prompt launch may help guarantee that nuclear-armed missiles which themselves have survived a first strike could actually be fired in a timely manner before being destroyed in follow-on, "mop-up" attacks. During delayed launch status, nuclear-armed missiles require some type of preparation prior to firing, such as fueling, warhead mounting, or the manual removal of static launch barriers.{{cite web|title=President-elect Trump's Nuclear Agenda: Modernization and More|url=http://www.nti.org/analysis/atomic-pulse/president-elect-trumps-nuclear-agenda-modernization-and-more/|website=nti.org|publisher=[Nuclear Threat Initiative](/source/Nuclear_Threat_Initiative)|access-date=January 11, 2017}} In nuclear warfighting strategy, weapons kept at delayed launch status are at risk of being destroyed in their silos in the event of a nuclear [first strike](/source/Pre-emptive_nuclear_strike) by an adversary. Even if weapons survive a first strike, a nation's command and control system may collapse by the time they are readied for firing. A 1993 analysis of future improvements in U.S. command and control predicted the United States government might only be able to continue operating for a few hours after an initial attack and would be unable to manage a "protracted" nuclear war, rendering surviving weapons kept in delayed launch status useless.{{cite book|last1=Derber|first1=Charles|title=The Nuclear Seduction: Why the Arms Race Doesn't Matter - And What Does|date=1993|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0520082834|pages=233–234}} Proponents of keeping some or all of a nation's nuclear deterrent at delayed alert status note several benefits, including decreased risk of accidental launch and minimized cost of crewing. ===SLBMs=== [Submarine-launched ballistic missiles](/source/Submarine-launched_ballistic_missiles) (SLBMs), when deployed aboard [ballistic missile submarine](/source/ballistic_missile_submarine)s, are generally not vulnerable to an enemy's own weapons and may be kept at delayed launch status without risking their future launch potential. However, methods for keeping ICBMs at a delayed launch status, such as warhead-missile separation or placing static launch barriers on silo doors, may not be possible in the case of SLBMs due to the nature of submarine-deployment. Several methods have been proposed by which SLBMs could be kept at a delayed launch status, such as deploying ballistic missile submarines in remote oceanic locations out-of-range of the nation's primary adversary. ==Status by operator== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Nation !! Launch status !! Notes !! Source |- | {{flagicon|China}} [China](/source/China) || style="background: orange; color: white"|Mixed || China maintains as many as 30 [ICBM](/source/ICBM)s at a prompt-launch status ready for a first strike or immediate retaliation, however, the majority of its ballistic missiles do not regularly have warheads mounted; warheads for these missiles are stored in a separate location. During periods of heightened international tension, missiles kept at delayed launch status can be mounted with warheads and upgraded to prompt-launch status. || |- | {{flagicon|France}} [France](/source/France) || style="background: Maroon; color: white"|Prompt|| The deployed portion of the [Strategic Oceanic Force](/source/Strategic_Oceanic_Force)'s [SLBM](/source/SLBM)s are kept at the equivalent of a prompt-launch status. (Aircraft tasked to the [Strategic Air Forces Command](/source/Strategic_Air_Forces_Command) have the capability to deliver nuclear weapons in the form of [gravity bomb](/source/gravity_bomb)s but are not routinely kept on an alert status that would allow them to do so.) || |- | {{flagicon|India}} [India](/source/India) || style="background: green; color: white"|Delayed || All Indian nuclear warheads designed for missile fitting are stored separately from their ballistic missiles, in a delayed launch status. || |- | {{flagicon|Israel}} [Israel](/source/Israel) || style="background: Purple; color: white"|Unknown || At present, very little is known about Israeli nuclear capabilities or warfighting doctrine. || |- | {{flagicon|North Korea}} [North Korea](/source/North_Korea)|| style="background: Purple; color: white"|Unknown|| At present, very little is known about North Korean nuclear capabilities or warfighting doctrine.|| |- | {{flagicon|Pakistan}} [Pakistan](/source/Pakistan) || style="background: Green; color: white"|Delayed|| All Pakistani nuclear warheads designed for missile fitting are stored separately from their ballistic missiles, in a delayed launch status. || |- | {{flagicon|Russia}} [Russia](/source/Russia) || style="background: Maroon; color: white"|Prompt|| Russia keeps almost all of its deployed nuclear-armed missiles at a prompt-launch status.|| |- | {{flagicon|United States}} [United States](/source/United_States) || style="background: Maroon; color: white"|Prompt|| The [United States](/source/United_States) keeps almost all of its deployed nuclear-armed missiles at a prompt-launch status. || |- | {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) || style="background: Green; color: white"|Delayed|| The [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) keeps just one [SSBN](/source/SSBN) on patrol, which carries its entire deployed nuclear arsenal. According to multiple sources, this deployed portion of British nuclear forces probably requires several days advance notice to prepare its weapons for launch.|| {{cite news|title=A guide to Trident and the debate about replacement|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-13442735|access-date=January 11, 2017|work=[BBC News](/source/BBC_News)|date=July 18, 2016}}{{cite web|title=Reframing Nuclear De-Alert|url=https://fsi.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/reframing_dealert.pdf|website=[Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University)|publisher=[EastWest Institute](/source/EastWest_Institute)|access-date=January 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930094505/http://fsi.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/reframing_dealert.pdf|archive-date=September 30, 2015|url-status=dead}} |} ==See also== * [De-alerting](/source/De-alerting) * [Nuclear football](/source/Nuclear_football) ==References== {{reflist|2}} Category:Nuclear warfare Category:Nuclear weapons --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Prompt launch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prompt_launch) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prompt_launch?action=history)). 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