Tactical Nuclear Weapon: Strategic Conundrum, Decisive Force in Modern Warfare

By Fouad Sabry

What is Tactical Nuclear Weapon

A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territory. Generally smaller in explosive power, they are defined in contrast to strategic nuclear weapons, which are designed mostly to be targeted at the enemy interior far away from the war front against military bases, cities, towns, arms industries, and other hardened or larger-area targets to damage the enemy's ability to wage war. As of 2024, no tactical nuclear weapons have ever been used in combat.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: Tactical nuclear weapon

Chapter 2: Nuclear warfare

Chapter 3: Neutron bomb

Chapter 4: Nuclear artillery

Chapter 5: List of states with nuclear weapons

Chapter 6: Russia and weapons of mass destruction

Chapter 7: Suitcase nuclear device

Chapter 8: List of nuclear weapons

Chapter 9: Single Integrated Operational Plan

Chapter 10: B61 nuclear bomb

(II) Answering the public top questions about tactical nuclear weapon.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of Tactical Nuclear Weapon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: Jun 20, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: Tactical nuclear weapon

A nuclear weapon that is designed to be deployed on a battlefield in wartime settings, most of the time with friendly forces in close proximity and possibly even on contested friendly territory, is referred to as a tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or a non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW). In contrast to strategic nuclear weapons, which are designed to be aimed at the interior of the enemy territory, far away from the front lines of the conflict, against military bases, cities, towns, arms industries, and other hardened or larger-area targets in order to hinder the enemy's ability to wage war, these weapons are typically smaller in terms of their explosive power. Not a single tactical nuclear bomb has ever been deployed as of the year 2023.

Among the various types of nuclear weapons that are classified as tactical nuclear weapons are gravity bombs, short-range missiles, artillery shells, land mines, depth charges, and torpedoes that are armed with nuclear warheads. Air-to-air missiles and surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) that are armed with nuclear weapons are also included in this category. SAMs can be shipborne or ground-based. The Special Atomic Demolition Munition and the Davy Crockett recoilless rifle (recoilless smoothbore gun) are two examples of small, two-man portable or truck-portable tactical weapons that have been developed. These weapons are sometimes referred to in a misleading manner as suitcase nukes. However, the difficulty of combining sufficient yield with portability may limit their utility in the military. Such explosives might be utilized during times of conflict for the purpose of destroying chokepoints to enemy offensives. These chokepoints could be found in tunnels, restricted mountain passes, and long viaducts.

It is not possible to provide a precise definition of the tactical category with regard to the range or yield of the nuclear weapon.

Some tactical nuclear weapons have specific features that are designed to enhance their battlefield characteristics. These features include variable yield, which allows their explosive power to be varied over a wide range for different situations, and enhanced radiation weapons, also known as neutron bombs, which are designed to maximize ionizing radiation exposure while simultaneously minimizing blast effects.

In addition to counterforce strikes on hardened or wide area bomber, submarine, and missile sites, strategic missiles and bombers are allocated preplanned targets that include enemy airfields, radars, and surface-to-air defenses. These objectives are also assigned to strategic bombers and missiles. As opposed to targeting mobile military assets in nearly real time by employing tactical weapons that are optimized for time-sensitive strike missions that are frequently close to friendly forces, the strategic mission is to eliminate the national defenses of the enemy nation in order to make it possible for subsequent bombers and missiles to threaten the strategic forces, command, and economy of the enemy nation in a more realistic manner.

The peak levels of nuclear weapons stockpiles during the Cold War included a significant amount of nuclear weapons that were used for military purposes.

The possibility that the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons may unexpectedly lead to a rapid escalation of a war to the full use of strategic weapons has resulted in recommendations being made within NATO and other organizations to impose constraints on the storage and use of tactical weapons, as well as to make the process more transparent. Following the conclusion of the Cold War in 1991, the United States of America and the Soviet Union removed the majority of their tactical nuclear weapons from deployment and disposed of them. The thousands of tactical warheads that were in the possession of both sides in the late 1980s have decreased to an estimated 230 tactical warheads in the United States and between 1,000 and 2,000 warheads in the Russian Federation in 2021, although estimates for Russia vary greatly.

There is a wide range of possible yields for tactical nuclear weapons, ranging from a quarter of a kiloton to nearly fifty kilotons.

The use of nuclear weapons for tactical purposes against adversaries that are also armed with nuclear weapons poses a high risk of escalating the conflict beyond the boundaries that were anticipated, moving it from the tactical to the strategic level. owing to the fact that nuclear weapons with destructive yields of 10 tons of TNT (for example, the W54 warhead design) might be used more freely during times of crisis than warheads with yields of 100 kilotons for any given situation.

The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons carries with it the potential to escalate the conflict to the point where it reaches a tipping point that prompts the deployment of strategic nuclear weapons such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). In addition, the tactical nuclear weapons that are most likely to be used first (i.e., the smaller, low-yield weapons such as nuclear artillery going back to the 1960s) have typically been subject to less severe political supervision at times of military combat crises relative to strategic weapons. In the event that a relatively junior officer in charge of a small tactical nuclear weapon (for example, the M29 Davy Crockett) was in imminent danger of being overpowered by hostile forces, he could submit a request for authorization to fire the weapon. Because of the decentralized control of warhead authorization, his request could be granted in a short amount of time during a crisis.

Because of these factors, the stockpiles of tactical nuclear warheads in the arsenals of the majority of countries have been drastically decreased around the year 2010, and the varieties that are the smallest among them have been completely eradicated. It is now possible for the most senior political authorities of the country to maintain centralized control of tactical nuclear weapons, even when they are engaged in combat, as a result of the increased sophistication of Category F PAL mechanisms and the communications infrastructure that is associated with them.

The B61 nuclear bomb is one example of a variable yield nuclear warhead that has been manufactured in both tactical and strategic variants. Although the lowest selectable yield of a tactical B61 (Mod 3 and Mod 4) is 0.3 kilotons (300 tons), current PAL mechanisms ensure that centralized political control is maintained over each weapon, including their destructive yields. This is the case even though the lowest selectable yield of a tactical B61 is (300 tons).

Following the launch of the B61 Mod 12, the United States will be in possession of four hundred nuclear bombs that are similar to one another. The strategic or tactical nature of these bombs will be determined solely by the mission and target, as well as the type of aircraft that they are carried along with.

A strategy to enhance confidence between NATO and Russia has been pushed by ten countries who are members of NATO. This plan has the potential to lead to accords that lower the number of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there has been a constant speculation about whether or not Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, will use a tactical nuclear bomb either against Ukraine or in a demonstration strike over unpopulated areas. This is due to the fact that the course of the war does not appear to be favorable to what the Kremlin anticipated, and several members of the Russian government have threatened to use nuclear weapons.

B57 nuclear bomb

Mod 3, Mod 4, and Mod 10 of the B61 nuclear weapon

Blue Peacock

Tactical nuclear missile, also known as Nasr

As a nuclear weapon, the W25

As a nuclear weapon, the W33

W85

Atomic mines are also included.

The W54 nuclear warhead is installed on the M-28 and M-29 Davy Crocketts.

Demolition Munition with a Medium Atomic Level

Shaurya

Red Beard

Particularly Designed Atomic Demolition Weapons

Nuclear artillery

{End Chapter 1}

Chapter 2: Nuclear warfare

Atomic warfare, commonly referred to as nuclear warfare, is a premeditated political strategy or a potential military battle that uses nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are considered weapons of mass destruction because, in contrast to traditional combat, they may cause significant amounts of destruction quickly and with long-lasting radioactive effects. A significant nuclear exchange could result in secondary consequences like nuclear winter and have long-term effects, mostly from the fallout emitted, As of now, the American atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 represent the only instance of nuclear weapons being used in armed conflict. A uranium gun-like device with the codename Little Boy exploded over the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. A plutonium implosion-like weapon with the codename Fat Man was set off over the Japanese city of Nagasaki three days later, on August 9. Together, these two attacks killed almost 200,000 people and contributed to Japan's capitulation, which happened without the employment of any additional nuclear weapons in the battle.

Following World