Yes. At least concerning military aircraft. A nuclear explosion causes a massive spike of RF energy, which induces huge voltages and currents in unprotected electronic systems (first seen during the Bikini atoll hydrogen bomb tests, when the electric power supplies in far away Hawaii started going bonkers). This pulse is enough to fry most semiconductor components in these circuits.
Vacuum valves are much more resistant to these pulses.
The western countries went a different way and hardened their electronic equipment by shielding it and using overvoltage protective elements, similar to those used for lightning strike protection today.
BTW, the Russians (and Chinese) are still manufacturing vacuum valves and use them extensively in e.g. in high power RF final stage amplifiers. For low band applications in the multi-kilowatt range vacuum valves are still the technology of choice.