What is striking to me is the enormous waste of resources and engineering talent that went in to destructive monstrosities on all sides. I remember having the same reaction visiting a UK air museum seeing the Vulcan up-close for the first time.
Entire generations of the best an brightest roped in to build political brinkmanship tools, never to be used that are now rusting away.
Meanwhile, Japan and Germany, the loosers of WW2 that was meant to be kept down, by not allowing them to participate in the arms race built up formidable industrial capacity, that came to dominate many sectors by the end of the cold war.
Entire generations of the best an brightest roped in to build political brinkmanship tools, never to be used that are now rusting away.
Meanwhile, Japan and Germany, the loosers of WW2 that was meant to be kept down, by not allowing them to participate in the arms race built up formidable industrial capacity, that came to dominate many sectors by the end of the cold war.