With global tensions often dominating the news cycle, many Americans are asking a tough question: if a large-scale world conflict ever erupted, which parts of the United States might face the greatest vulnerability?
It’s important to be clear — there is no confirmed global war underway. However, defense analysts and national security researchers regularly conduct simulations to test worst-case scenarios. These exercises are not predictions. They are preparedness models designed to understand how geography, infrastructure, and military assets could influence risk.
One major factor often examined is the location of strategic military infrastructure — particularly intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos. Several central U.S. states host these facilities as part of America’s nuclear deterrence system. In theoretical nuclear exchange models, areas with concentrated missile fields are sometimes classified as higher direct-target risk due to their strategic significance.
States frequently cited in long-standing defense analyses include Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota. Their inclusion in modeling studies is tied strictly to infrastructure location — not to any current events or imminent threats.