Single Integrated Operational Plan

The Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) was the United States' general plan for nuclear war from 1961 to 2003. The SIOP gave the president of the United States a range of targeting options, and described launch procedures and target sets against which nuclear weapons would be launched. The plan integrated the capabilities of the nuclear triad of strategic bombers, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and sea-based submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). The SIOP was a highly classified document, and was one of the most secret and sensitive issues in U.S. national security policy. The first SIOP, titled SIOP-62, was finished on 14 December 1960 and implemented on 1 July 1961 (the start of fiscal year 1962). The SIOP was updated annually until February 2003, when it was replaced by Operations Plan (OPLAN) 8044. As of April 2013, the U.S. nuclear war plan was OPLAN 8010-12, Strategic Deterrence and Force Employment.