Key developments in nuclear warfare, especially the arms race 1945-90, and development of other weapons of mass destruction

Key developments in nuclear warfare, especially the arms race 1945-90, and development of other weapons of mass destruction.

• The nuclear arms race was beginning! 

40s:

1. The USA developed the first atom bomb in 1945 and dropped them on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For four years, the USA was the world's only nuclear power. This changed in 1949 though, when the USSR exploded their first A-bomb

50s:

1. The USA created an even more powerful hydrogen bomb in 1952. The USSR did the same in 1959.
2. In 1957, the USSR test-fired the first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), and the Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite. This made it possible for the Soviets to launch a nuclear missile attack on the US.
3. The USA caught up with this in the same year launching its Atlas ICBM. 

60s:

1. American ICBM numbers increased from 200 in 1961 to 1000 in 1967, with USSR gaining on this number when the US was distracted by the Vietnam War.
2. Both opponents had enough bombs to destroy each other many times over.
3. In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the nations very close to nuclear war. The USSR and the USA signed a treaty in 1963 to stop any future nuclear weapon tests.

70s:

1. It became increasingly difficult for the Soviet Union to keep building its nuclear arsenal as it had a limited budget.
2. In 1972, both countries agreed to limit their nuclear weapons when they signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Agreement (SALT 1)

80s:

1. Ronald Reagan came into power in 1980 and was keen to show off American innovation and power through the development of new weapons - the start of another arms race.
2. The USA developed and deployed medium-range Cruise and Pershing nuclear missiles which could be launched from almost anywhere.
3. They also started to develop the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI/Star Wars) for using laser weapons to shoot down Soviet missiles from space.
4. The arms race with the USA started to become too expensive for the USSR to handle, and living standards in the country became worse and worse. 
5. This eventually led to the Soviet's fall and the US left as the sole superpower.