Submarine Fleet Missile

The idea of using submarines to launch high-destruction, long-range missiles has been around since 1934 and H.G. Wells' book The Shape of Things to Come, which talks about 'long range air torpedoes.' Since then, dozens of these Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) have been developed, by a variety of nations. Nearly all of them are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and their development had tremendous impact on the Cold War.

SLBMs allow a nation to retain nuclear weapon capacity even after a first strike by a hostile nation. Such retention of power is a potent deterrent to a hostile nuclear strike, and it also allows a nation the freedom not to launch at the slightest provocation. SLBMs are one of several factors that prevented the Cold War from 'going hot', and have influenced politics for decades.