The "nuclear triad" refers to a military strategy that involves three distinct platforms for delivering nuclear weapons. These platforms include land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and strategic bombers. This combination ensures that a country can respond to a nuclear attack from multiple locations, enhancing deterrence. By having a nuclear triad, nations like the United States can maintain a credible defense posture. If one delivery method is compromised, the others remain available, making it difficult for adversaries to eliminate a country's nuclear capability in a first strike. This strategy aims to prevent nuclear war through the threat of retaliation.