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Satire for Sanity
WHAT ARE TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND HOW POWERFUL ARE THEY?
Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for battlefield use, as opposed to strategic weapons designed to be fired across vast distances to wipe out enemy cities. The underlying physics is the same, using nuclear fission and fusion reactions to release vast amounts of energy. The destructive power of tactical nuclear weapons, while typically smaller than strategic weapons, is still comparable with the atomic bombs used by the United States to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War Two.
HOW MANY DO RUSSIA AND THE U.S. HAVE?
The United States has about 200, half of which are at bases in Europe. Russia has about 1,558 non-strategic nuclear warheads, experts at the Federation of American Scientists estimated, in March. These could be delivered by different means including being dropped as bombs or fitted to a variety of missiles that are capable of carrying either nuclear or conventional warheads.
WHAT WOULD BE THE AIM OF USING A TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPON?
Experts say the point would not be to capture territory, because the use of such a weapon would create a poisoned radioactive wasteland. Rather, some believe Russia might use one in a scenario where its troops were in retreat and facing a major defeat. In a report, opens new tab for the International Institute for Strategic Studies in January, former Pentagon and NATO official William Alberque said Russia might consider using a non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) to "sober up" the West and coerce it into resolving a conflict on Moscow's terms, calculating that the U.S. would be unwilling to cross the nuclear threshold in retaliation. President Vladimir Putin said last week that Russia would be able to achieve victory in Ukraine without resorting to nuclear weapons.
HOW WOULD WE KNOW IF A TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPON WAS USED?
Experts say preparations to launch one would probably be visible to Western military intelligence satellites, as it would involve the kinds of steps seen during the exercises, including moving warheads from a central storage facility. These would take place over a number of hours, with Russian command and control centres being placed on high alert.
From the point of view of Russia's adversary, incoming missiles carrying tactical nuclear warheads would be indistinguishable from the types of missiles with conventional warheads that Russia has been firing at Ukraine for more than two years. But an actual nuclear strike would be clearly identifiable by the scale of destruction, the seismic shock and the massive release of radiation.
www.reuters.com
Bear in mind- Under no existential threat whatsoever, the US used atomic weapons on civilians . Twice
Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for battlefield use, as opposed to strategic weapons designed to be fired across vast distances to wipe out enemy cities. The underlying physics is the same, using nuclear fission and fusion reactions to release vast amounts of energy. The destructive power of tactical nuclear weapons, while typically smaller than strategic weapons, is still comparable with the atomic bombs used by the United States to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War Two.
HOW MANY DO RUSSIA AND THE U.S. HAVE?
The United States has about 200, half of which are at bases in Europe. Russia has about 1,558 non-strategic nuclear warheads, experts at the Federation of American Scientists estimated, in March. These could be delivered by different means including being dropped as bombs or fitted to a variety of missiles that are capable of carrying either nuclear or conventional warheads.
WHAT WOULD BE THE AIM OF USING A TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPON?
Experts say the point would not be to capture territory, because the use of such a weapon would create a poisoned radioactive wasteland. Rather, some believe Russia might use one in a scenario where its troops were in retreat and facing a major defeat. In a report, opens new tab for the International Institute for Strategic Studies in January, former Pentagon and NATO official William Alberque said Russia might consider using a non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) to "sober up" the West and coerce it into resolving a conflict on Moscow's terms, calculating that the U.S. would be unwilling to cross the nuclear threshold in retaliation. President Vladimir Putin said last week that Russia would be able to achieve victory in Ukraine without resorting to nuclear weapons.
HOW WOULD WE KNOW IF A TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPON WAS USED?
Experts say preparations to launch one would probably be visible to Western military intelligence satellites, as it would involve the kinds of steps seen during the exercises, including moving warheads from a central storage facility. These would take place over a number of hours, with Russian command and control centres being placed on high alert.
From the point of view of Russia's adversary, incoming missiles carrying tactical nuclear warheads would be indistinguishable from the types of missiles with conventional warheads that Russia has been firing at Ukraine for more than two years. But an actual nuclear strike would be clearly identifiable by the scale of destruction, the seismic shock and the massive release of radiation.
What are tactical nuclear weapons and why is Russia holding drills?
Russia and its ally Belarus are carrying out exercises to practise the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons.
www.reuters.com
Bear in mind- Under no existential threat whatsoever, the US used atomic weapons on civilians . Twice