Intercontinental ballistic missile
From Command and Conquer Wiki
"Warning! Nuclear Warhead Launched!"
- EVA after a nuke is launched
An Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile, or ICBM, is a long-range (greater than 5,500 km or 3,500 miles) ballistic missile typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery, that is, delivering one or more nuclear warheads. These missiles were first developed by the Soviet Union in Great World War II at the Dark Horseman military base under the supervision of Vladimir Kosygin and first deployed against Europe when the base was attacked. The crisis was thankfully averted and missiles disabled in flight.
Following the war there were several countries possessing nukes, including Russia, USA, Great Britain, France and China. With the estabilishment of UNGDI, most nuclear weapons were in the hands of the member states of the organization, who decided that they would never make use of them. However, they were stored in full battle readiness with delivery systems. Not suprisingly, Brotherhood of Nod took an interest in the weapons and did what it could to amass the necessary components for the missile. They managed it, and in the end of the First Tiberium War, almost managed to retaliate.
After the war, a stockpile of ICBMs (probably originating from rogue and not UN-controlled arsenals of Pakistan and Israel, as well as Chinese Second Artillery Corps) was acquired by the Brotherhood. Mounted on tracked mobile launchers, they were used to attempt to shoot down the GDSS Philadelphia, an operation aborted in the last minutes by commander Michael McNeil. Another ICBM was used to obliterate Vega's island, following his failure.
The Brotherhood retained their nuclear capabilities after their second loss, and estabilished a camouflaged missile launch facility in Cairo. It was from here that a strike was launched that obliterated the Philadelphia and sparked the Third Tiberium War. The Cairo site was destroyed not long after the beginning of the war, and after Kane's apparent death, the Brotherhood had to hijack GDI warheads from the Australian outback and steal the access codes from a control center in Sydney. This was done as the Scrin invaded and the turmoil aided Nod in succeeding in their mission.
