Quote:
Originally Posted by Injecteer
ICBMs do not need stealth, they deploy tend of decoys to hide among.
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A hypothetical stealthy ICBM (stealthy at all times and in all aspects) would be extremely useful. You could basically first-strike an otherwise well-quipped enemy, and the only warning he would have would be when the targets were hit. Contrast this with the current situation, where you're likely to have perhaps five minutes warning for IRBMs/close-launched SLBMs and 20-30 minutes for ICBMs/long-range SLBMs, where the target may have time to bunker down. Decoys only help survivability.
Of course, the general characteristics of ballistic missiles makes stealth a difficult if not impossible proposition.