Alternate 1980s Arms Race

Delta Force

Banned
What if in the 1980s the Soviet Union had converted a large part of its military industrial complex over to industrial and commercial applications in order to get out of stagnation? Rather than playing along with Reagan's conventional arms race and SDI attempts, the Soviets withdraw from the nuclear arms treaties, make more nuclear weapons, and inform the United States that any deployment of an SDI system will be treated as an attempt to destroy the Soviet Union. Does the Soviet Union last any longer by starting a nuclear arms race with America and avoiding trying to compete in conventional arms and SDI (nuclear bombs are pretty cheap), or would this ultimately have little effect on its demise? Also, could the Soviet Union potentially make the United States economy fail in the 1990s due to massive deficit spending by doing this? I know there was concern in the 1980s that a few more years of the arms race might have caused major problems for the American economy.
 
There was a nuclear arms race in the 1980s.

The Soviets built a whole slew of nuclear delivery systems during that decade.

SS-24 & SS-25 (precursors to Topol-M) ICBMs.

The Typhoon class SSBNs.

Blackjack bombers.
 

Delta Force

Banned
I meant more of making it purely a nuclear arms race and not trying to compete with the United States in conventional arms.
 
I meant more of making it purely a nuclear arms race and not trying to compete with the United States in conventional arms.
I may be missing your point, but half of a nuclear arms race is designing methods to deliver the nuke onto your enemy. You can build all the Tsar Bombas you want, but without conventional delivery systems all you have is basically a collection of the world's most dangerous paperweights. :p
 
Think of how well that would go over diplomatically.

You had half of Europe thinking that Reagan was the threat to peace, then the Soviets pull this stunt?

Reagan would have milked this for all it was worth.

And called their bluff.
 

Delta Force

Banned
I may be missing your point, but half of a nuclear arms race is designing methods to deliver the nuke onto your enemy. You can build all the Tsar Bombas you want, but without conventional delivery systems all you have is basically a collection of the world's most dangerous paperweights. :p

Less tanks, naval warships, and fighter planes, and more rockets and strategic bombers (on the military front). That, and things like giving strategic bombers air launched cruise missiles and adding more warheads to the heavy ICBMs can significantly increase the utility of existing systems for minimal cost. Compared to the acquisition and maintenance costs (and manpower needs) of conventional forces, strategic weapons are pretty cheap.
 
You've done nothing significant enough to keep the Soviet state and economy from crubbling like it did in OTL nor anything significant enough to bring about the collapse of the US economy during the '80s (major, traumatic problems, yes, but not collapse).
 
Top