38" According to the official United. States Department of Defense estimates"independ.ently targetable weapons in ICBMSI SLBI,{s and, tong.r€-nge bombers add upto over 9,000 for the United States side and about 5,000 for the Soviet Union.(The totat numbers of weapons in the strategic stockpiles could be considerablylarger, as is ind.j.eated. in table 2.) These numbers are expected to increase inthe next fe\.r years by at least l+o per cent with continued MrRVine, introductionof ner,r cruise nissiles and. the tieployment of the Trident subrnarine. 39. The poner anal numb er of these strategic weapon6 is difficult to grasp, consider that s. single Poseiclon subtnaline nith its 15 MIRVed nissiles can deliver warheads to 160 separate targets; these ,varheads have a total explosive yieldof 6.1] l'{t. ' a larger explosive power than that of all the mrnitions fired in theSecond llor].d. t^lar; still" this rnegatonnage is of the order of one or a few thousancl'.hs of the megatonnage in either the Uniteil States or the Soviet strateeic ars enal . E. Regional nuclear forces (nuc-rear weapons of rnedium or intermediate r_angg ) ho. rn acidition to these centrar strategic forces, both super -powers have manyweapon systens with somewbat shcrter ranges. These systens (ancl sinilar weaponabelonging to other nuclear-.weapon states) are sometimes referred to as "gre.y area.A/35/392 _E;ns_La s n Annex Page 20 wea.pons or, in a nuropean context, as Elrrostrategic ' weapons ' Tf the word ,'stiategic', is used in its ordina'y nilitary sense. then indeed most nuclear weapons can be used for strategic purposes. If grey arealr veapons are somet irnes tfroirgnt of as a speclel category., it is rnainly because they could reach not only targJt s in countries other than those of the super'-Powers but also, by forward d.eplo}'rnent, talGets on the territories of the super-Povers themselves ' l+1. ftrere is no clear bordertine between these lteapons and. for instance, the SLSI{ forces afready described.. It is cornrnon practice. ho{ever, to single out nedir.rm-range ( Bo0-2, l+oo k]rl) bauistic missi-les (I'IRBI,I), intermediate-ranAe (2,trOO.-6,!+OO kn) ballistic nissiles ( IRBI"{) and medium=range bomber aircraft as
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the military capabilities and nuclear weapons of the United States and the Soviet Union, specifically the numbers and types of weapons, their ranges, and their potential impact. The text also mentions the strategic and regional nuclear forces, as well as the explosive power of these weapons. Given the focus on military capabilities and nuclear weapons, it is likely that the text falls under the categories related to defense and security.

**Category**
Science and Technology, International Relations