How were large yield Nuclear Weapons deployed after the Extinction of WarShips?

[FastConcentrate8]

So guys, me and the buddies were coming up with a bigtime BattleTech AU including some major custom factions up to and including custom Great Houses and Successor States and we had a big question.

After the technological extinction of the WarShip and before their return and the invention of the Pocket WarShip, how would one deploy a high yield nuclear weapon (IE the ones normally deployed on the heads of Capital Missiles) to maintain a strategic deterrence. We're not planning on deploying them before the Clan Invasion where due to the reasons the Clanners (Except for Wolf and sometimes Bear) kept bidding WarShips and orbital bombarding targets necessitating the usage of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons in defensive actions.

We have three ideas for how to deploy them.
1. Bomb dropped strategic nuclear weapon in the high kiloton/low megaton yield deployed from ASF.
2. Modifed Avenger DropShips designed to serve as Strategic Bombers carried into systems by Scout Class JumpShips jumping into Pirate Points.
3. Missiles erectors loaded onboard DropShips to make a quick touch and go on a planet's remote areas to land, offload the missiles, fire, and then try to get out.

Anyone want to weigh in?

[pokefan548]

Each of the strategic warheads, the Sant Ana, Peacemaker, and I think AMW have rules for vehicular launchers. Also can be launched from DropShip-mounted capital missile bays.

There's also always just the classic option of sneaking a warhead into the back of a delivery truck, driving it downtown, and hitting a trigger.

[AlphaMirage]

Kick em out a cargo bay probably particularly the AMW. That said Alamos are still fairly good as deterrents

[Frabby]

Umm… I think after WarShips were gone, they disn't actually deploy nukes anymore (and hadn’t been doing it for some time). Until Gibson and then the Jihad, that is.

[Daryk]

I thought the "boomers" were DropShips, not WarShips?  ???

[dgorsman]

I thought the "boomers" were DropShips, not WarShips?  ???

Yup.  Converted cargo carriers.

[Daryk]

So really no change to deployment method after WarShips are gone...  8)

[Liam's Ghost]

Even assuming the lowest possible tech level, the actual warhead of an asset management weapon only comes in at about six tons (roughly two tons per megaton, plus a few spare kilos), which is pretty well in the range for air dropped ordnance from an aerofighter.

It would be a big bomb, no doubt, but probably doable on a medium airframe.

But then, a five hundred kiloton (peacemaker) warhead would only weigh one ton, and even that would be overkill for almost anything you'd want to use it on, short of an assured kill weapon against any WarShip you could expect to meet. Even in strategic warfare, megaton yield warheads aren't considered all that valuable compared to larger numbers of smaller warheads.

Anything smaller than that should easily slot in as an air dropped bomb.