Operation Giant Lance

Operation "Giant Lance"
	Part of the Cold War
Date	October 10–30, 1969
Location	Over Arctic Ocean
Result	Inconclusive
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Richard Nixon	Leonid Brezhnev

Operation Giant Lance was a secret U.S. nuclear alert operation by the United States that the Strategic Air Command carried out in late October 1969^[1] Giant Lance was one component of a multi-pronged military exercise, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Readiness Test that the Joint Chiefs developed and carried out during October 1969 in response to White House orders. On October 10, 1969, on the advice of National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, U.S. President Richard Nixon issued the order for the readiness test that led to Giant Lance.

Preparations were made to send a squadron of 18 B-52s, flying in sorties of 6 bombers at a time, of the 92nd Strategic Aerospace Wing loaded with nuclear weapons to fly over northern Alaska in the direction of the Soviet Union. It was hoped that this would convince the Soviets that Nixon was willing to resort to nuclear war in order to win the Vietnam War. The squadron took off on October 27 and flew towards the Soviet Union.^[2]^[3] Actions were designed to be detectable by the Soviets.^[4] Nixon cancelled the operation on October 30.^[1]

The plan was part of Nixon's madman theory,^[4] a concept based on game theory,^[1] and its details remained unknown to the public until Freedom of Information Act requests in the 2000s revealed documents about the operation.^[5]

^ ^a ^b ^c Suri, Jeremi (2008-02-25). "The Nukes of October: Richard Nixon's Secret Plan to Bring Peace to Vietnam". Wired Magazine. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
^ Sagan, Scott; Suri, Jeremi (2003). "The Madman Nuclear Alert: Secrecy, Signaling, and Safety in October 1969". International Security. 27 (4): 150–183. doi:10.1162/016228803321951126. JSTOR 4137607. S2CID 57564244.
^ Burr, William; Kimball, Jeffrey (2003). "Nixon's Nuclear Ploy". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 59 (1): 28–73. doi:10.2968/059001011 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
^ ^a ^b Jesse Ventura (4 April 2011). 63 Documents The Government Doesn't Want You To Read. Skyhorse Publishing, 2011. p. 170. ISBN 978-1-61608-226-0.
^ Burr, William; Kimball, Jeffry (December 23, 2002). "Nixon's Nuclear Ploy: The Vietnam Negotiations and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Readiness Test". The National Security Archive.

[:9-1] Suri, Jeremi (2008-02-25). "The Nukes of October: Richard Nixon's Secret Plan to Bring Peace to Vietnam". Wired Magazine. Retrieved 2012-01-28.

[:1-2] Sagan, Scott; Suri, Jeremi (2003). "The Madman Nuclear Alert: Secrecy, Signaling, and Safety in October 1969". International Security. 27 (4): 150–183. doi:10.1162/016228803321951126. JSTOR 4137607. S2CID 57564244.

[:2-3] Burr, William; Kimball, Jeffrey (2003). "Nixon's Nuclear Ploy". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 59 (1): 28–73. doi:10.2968/059001011 – via Taylor & Francis Online.

[:0-4] Jesse Ventura (4 April 2011). 63 Documents The Government Doesn't Want You To Read. Skyhorse Publishing, 2011. p. 170. ISBN 978-1-61608-226-0.

[:3-5] Burr, William; Kimball, Jeffry (December 23, 2002). "Nixon's Nuclear Ploy: The Vietnam Negotiations and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Readiness Test". The National Security Archive.

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