                               Command : LAUNCH

 SYNTAX:
   [##:##] Command: launch <PLANES>

The  launch command is used to launch missiles (or satellites) from sectors or
nuclear submarines owned by you.  Note that you cannot launch missiles at sec-
tors belonging to countries you are not at war with. (see info relations)

If  there  are  nuclear  warheads on board the particular missile, you will be
asked for targeting data for each warhead (also known  as  re-entry  vehicle),
including the target x,y.

Once a satellite has been launched, it can not be moved again.

Additionally, each missile can be targeted to air-burst or ground-burst.  Note
that the rest of this paragraph  is  obsolete,  and  retained  for  historical
interest  only.  Nukes  have been restricted to 1 hex of effect, so always use
ground bursts for maximum damage'*U.  In order to better destroy  missiles  on
the  ground  (or in their silos), the ground-burst technique is used.  Ground-
bursts are much less effective against large area targets, but do massive dam-
age  to  the sector it impacts, possibly knocking out hardened missiles before

                               Command : LAUNCH

they can be used against you.  In the parlance of nuclear targeting  doctrine,
this  is  known  as  counter-force targeting.  Air-bursts are used in order to
kill large numbers of civilians, to knock out industry (by flattening the fac-
tories),  to take out lightly armored military targets in a large area, and to
generally wreak havoc.  Nuclear strategists call this  a  counter-value  tech-
nique.

Once  all  targeting  data is entered, the launch command will notify you of a
successful launch, targeting, and (if all goes well)  the  detonation  of  the
nuclear  devices  in their target sectors.  Note here that it is much safer to
use 100% missiles than those which are less efficient, and missiles below  60%
cannot be launched.

Of course, things don't always go as planned!

Note  that  when you are first asked for the target sector you can chicken out
by hitting ^C (or your favorite abort character).

As a final note: When launching partially efficient missiles,  there  is  a  %
chance  equal  to  100-missile efficiency that the missile will blow up on the

                               Command : LAUNCH

launching pad instead of launching. If such an exploding missile should happen
to  be  carrying  one  or more nuclear weapons, there is a 33% chance per such
nuclear weapon that the bomb will go off when the missile explodes...

See also : build, planes, satellite, nuke-types, relations,  On  Thermonuclear
War by Herman Kahn.

