> what we really need is some strategic nuclear ability
France has nukes.
France has nukes.
France only has one sub guaranteed to be at sea at any one time. That's not a credible deterrent, one torpedo and it's gone.
We need to build that out to be much more resilient against counterattack.
This is why several countries are partnering with France now too build this out.
And what we need too is stronger NGO organisations like the UN and ICC. To avoid military conflict in the first place.
In case of a nuclear attack there is no time to build stuff obviously. A deterrent needs to be ready 24/7.
And bombers only really work when aerial supremacy has already been achieved. The US still operates some but constant flights were dropped in the 60s like chrome dome.
For Europe to be completely independent from the US for its deterrent (and thus not being able to be blackmailed by Trump) we'll need our own ICBM platform and more subs.