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So, for my own nefarious reasons, I'm working on a TL where the USAF maintains its monopoly within the US military over strategic nuclear weapons, and I wanted to get the views of the board on the subject. I'm not trying to give the USAF a permanent monopoly on strategic nukes, just long enough to have some research programs bear fruit that were cancelled OTL because they duplicated Polaris' capabilities. That means keeping the US from seriously working on an SLBM before 1960, preferably 1965.

My working draft at the moment is to delay the start of the Korean War by two years by killing Stalin in 1949. During these two years, Truman reverses the increase in defense budgets after the Soviet A-bomb test, and the draft ends in 1950 when the Selective Service Act is not renewed. In the fight over funds, the unofficial deal between the services to split the budget ends, in the USAF's favor. As part of the cuts in the other services, the Regulus cruise missile program is eliminated, as it's ineffective without an atomic warhead and duplicates USAF capabilities with one.

When the Korean War starts in 1952, the US military isn't able to hold back the North Korean advance by conventional means, and Truman orders SAC to drop an atomic bomb off the coast of North Korea as a demonstration shot. This works, the North Koreans pull back, and the USAF is confirmed as the dominant service. Then, give whatever president succeeds Truman a secretary of defense who shares Truman's views of the Navy, thereby ensuring the Polaris program doesn't get off the ground. The slot in the nuclear triad filled by SLBMs in OTL is instead filled by Skybolt ALBMs.

Thoughts?
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