Which treaty froze the number of strategic ballistic missiles and provided for SLBMs?

• A. START
• B. ABM Treaty
• C. NPT
• D. SALT

Answer: (D)

Arms-control efforts during the Cold War aimed to slow the rapid buildup of nuclear forces without erasing them entirely. The agreement that froze the number of strategic ballistic missiles and provided for submarine-launched missiles is SALT, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. SALT I, reached in the early 1970s, set ceilings on how many ICBMs and SLBMs each side could deploy and established a framework that included SLBMs within those limits. It was designed to pause growth in the most dangerous weapons while keeping deterrence in place. START, by contrast, came later and focused on reducing numbers rather than freezing them. The NPT centers on preventing spread of nuclear weapons and promoting peaceful use, not on limiting specific missile counts. The ABM Treaty, while part of the broader SALT framework, primarily restricts anti-ballistic missile defenses rather than the overall inventory of strategic missiles.