Shortfall to Equilibrium

A Wessex helicopter in Malaya carries a torpedo. Miles from the sea, the pilot is asked what it is for - 'Gardening, old boy.'
Steele looked puzzled, so the pilot explained - 'If dropped from above 2,000 feet it can clear enough trees for me to land.'
Agent Steve Steele then went on to train on low-level atom bombers in Germany, training that will come in very useful later.
'When the elements are not conducive, the shortfall to equilibrium is made up with skill, confidence and experience.'
When Steele gets whisked off to Malmo with Lt Lennox Bird they have no clue as to how far this will take them.
Then Lt Bird is captured, and flown to Riga.
There follows a sea battle during which the Russians use an ex-Kreigmarine schnell-boat and crew from WW 2.
The Russians have devised a plan to acquire the latest American ICBM with warheads, but they lose it in the Baltic.
There is then a race to salvage it, resulting in an underwater fight.
The method of delivery planned for the atomic warhead is original to say the least - the invention of a machine the size of a naval destroyer travelling at 300 mph, the Ekranoplan. This is so innovative it is to be displayed in New York harbour where a mysterious crate is to be unloaded.