Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-7431551-20140405020542/@comment-75.83.169.166-20140405071951

Metal Gear, in basic  concept, is the land-based equivalent of a ballistic missile submarine. Its mobile nature means that unlike fixed silos, which can be easily targetted in a first strike, and truck-mounted launchers, which require roads that, again, could be damaged in a first strike, Metal Gear could theoretically launch from anywhere on land, thus guaranteeing so-called "Second Strike" capability, or the ability to retaliate after the user's nation has been struck with nuclear weapons, even if all "First Strike" weapons have been knocked off-line. Its mobile nature also means that, without an opposing conventional force in the general proximity, it's highly unlikely that they could be targetted and eliminated by a first strike. The result is a near-perfect deterence, the only limiting factor being the reluctance of most human beings to commit nuclear genocide, even as retaliation for the same, which is where the whole concept of Peace Walker came into play, but that's a whole different can of worms.