The standoff between the two great powers

During the whole of the Cold War, the military strategy of the two great empires confronting each other – American and Soviet – was based on a diabolical duo: the atomic bomb and the ballistic missile.

From 1955 onwards, the territories of the two "Great Powers" became permanently vulnerable: the flight time of an intercontinental missile was around 30 minutes; furthermore, the submarines that were constantly on the move, carried sea-land missiles with nuclear warheads.