History · A Level: The nuclear arms race, 1945-1991 (exams to Nov 2026). The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.
After the Cuban crisis both superpowers accepted that the arms race needed rules. The first treaties limited testing and the spread of weapons to new states.
In the 1970s the SALT talks set ceilings on missile launchers and on defences against missiles. These agreements slowed the race but did not reverse it, because warheads were not limited and MIRVs let numbers keep rising. SALT II was signed but never ratified.
Real cuts came only when relations improved under Gorbachev. The INF Treaty removed a whole class of missiles and START reduced long-range weapons. Limits became reductions.
Students confuse limiting with reducing. SALT only put ceilings on launchers, so arsenals still grew. The INF Treaty and START were the first to cut the number of weapons.
Answer: The freeze counted launchers, not warheads, so MIRVs allowed arsenals to keep growing. This was the main weakness of SALT I.
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