Cold War The Cold War was a sustained , lengthy state of political and military unrest between national powers after World War II . It was termed as " cold " because there was no large - scale fighting directly between the major superpowers , although there were major regional wars , known as proxy wars . The Vietnam War was one of these proxy wars that saw both anti and pro communist forces battling for supremacy over their ideological principles . In the real world , the Cold War lasted from 1947 - 1991 . The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and the United States and China were able to form friendly relations with one another after President Nixon ' s 1972 visit to the latter . Despite the war in Vietnam being present in both realities , it is unknown how accurate the Cold War was in the Fallout world . The tensions ended sometime before 2052 , albeit temporarily . Analysis . The main struggle of the Cold War was between two major ideologies . The nations of the western world maintained Capitalism , a system based on the principles of democracy , economic freedom for all and the rule of law . The eastern world was influenced by a new form of government - Communism , a system based upon the idea that everyone should receive according to his or her need , with the state owning most properties and commanding its citizens . The most powerful western bloc nation was the United States of America , and the eastern bloc was led by the Soviet Union during the 20th century . Initially , the Soviet Union was a strong supporter of Mao Zedong ' s communist revolutionaries . They formed a warm relationship with communist China upon its creation in 1949 . However , Soviet leaders tended to be revisionists , something that Mao despised . It is possible that the Fallout world saw a rift form between the Soviet Union and China , or perhaps even a complete collapse in relations . It seems that , in the early 21st century or earlier , China emerged as a third ideology and world power on the world stage . In the real world , China and the U . S . developed warm relations as they focused on a common enemy , the Soviet Union , which led to post - Mao China experiencing economic reforms and granting their citizens more freedom . It is likely that the exact opposite happened in the Fallout world , with the Soviet Union and the United States becoming unlikely allies . The fact that the Soviet Union , once the main rival of the United States , had a consulate in Los Angeles suggests that diplomatic relations between the two warmed in the wake of communist China . The Chinese began to viciously annex neighboring countries , suggesting that they and the Soviets also experienced border conflicts . Influence on the Fallout world . As the Cold War never ended , the general mindset of the people still lean towards pragmatism and ruggedness , which has immense influence on the shape of the Fallout world . Technology . The looming prospect of the Cold War halted almost all domestic demands for advancement of technology . The few exceptions are by - products from military development , such as robotics and medicine ( e . g . Mr . House , protectron s , stimpak s , RadAway , and various performance - enhancing drugs ) . Other than that , technology mostly stayed stagnant from the 1960s . Transportation . Land transport remained largely as it was as the culture never tuned into " sleekness " nor see the point of downsizing . As a result , most land transport had no further development beyond the 1960s . Due to the increasing cost of fuel , air and sea transport was drastically reduced close to nothing . This is evident with the few and sparse commercial / domestic aircraft and boats in both East and West Coast . Military . The Cold War allowed military to develop with almost limitless restrictions , which explained the massive disparity between commercial and military technologies . An exception is the domestic robotics that can handle house chores and basic survivalist skills ( e . g . Mr . Handy ) . Transport - wise , The USAF developed Vertibird s ( seen throughout the games ) and helicopters ( as seen in Conrad in " Fallout 4 " ) for air travel . Advanced nuclear submarines were also developed . Besides transport , the USAF developed Power armor , advanced exoskeletons that increased the operator ' s strength and resilience and could mount various plates to further increase its durability . In the United States , experimental energy weapons became the main focus on weapons for the military . It is unclear what weapon was issued to the armies of the European Commonwealth , but vehicles used by the Royal Armoured Corps such as the Boudicca - 78 / S use small energy cells , suggesting that they also focus research on energy weapons . The Soviet Union went on to introduce the AK - 112 in the early 21st century , with the model quickly being outdated and replaced by newer weapons . The Chinese also developed their own model of assault rifle , among other weapons such as the MEC Gauss minigun .