Tactical nuclear weapon

Speculation on usage

Main article: Nuclear close calls

Cold War

The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty decreased tensions by banning ground-launched missiles and launchers with ranges 500 km to 5,500 km (ICBM threshold), especially in Europe.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Main article: Nuclear threats during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there has been constant speculation about whether Russia's president Vladimir Putin will use a tactical nuclear weapon either against Ukraine or in a demonstration strike over unpopulated areas, given that the course of the war does not seem favorable to what the Kremlin anticipated, and several members of the Russian government have threatened the use of nuclear weapons.

On 25 March 2023, President Putin announced the stationing of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Russia would maintain control of the weapons. the weapons are a small number of Iskander missile warheads. Russia planned to finish a “storage facility” for tactical nuclear weapons by July 1. President Putin told Russian state television: "There is nothing unusual here either…Firstly, the United States has been doing this for decades. They have long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries." In December 2023, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko announced that the nuclear weapons deliveries were completed that October.

In May 2024, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would be holding drills with tactical nuclear weapons, days after responding to comments from senior Western officials.

Examples

• United States
  • Gravity bombs
    • Mark 7 nuclear bomb
    • B43 nuclear bomb
    • B57 nuclear bomb
    • B61 nuclear bomb Mod-3, Mod-4, Mod -10
    • B83 nuclear bomb
  • Warheads
    • W25 (nuclear warhead)
    • W33 (nuclear weapon)
    • W63 (nuclear warhead)
    • W64 (nuclear warhead)
    • W80 (nuclear warhead)
    • W85 (nuclear warhead)
    • W89 (cancelled)
  • Depth bombs
    • Mark 90 nuclear bomb
    • Mk 101 Lulu
    • Mk 105 Hotpoint
    • B57 nuclear bomb
    • B90 nuclear bomb (cancelled)
  • Artillery
    • W9 (nuclear warhead)
    • W19 (nuclear artillery shell)
    • W23 (nuclear artillery shell)
    • W33 (nuclear warhead)
    • W48
    • W54
    • W74 (nuclear warhead)
    • W75 (nuclear warhead)
    • W79 Artillery-Fired Atomic Projectile
    • W82
  • Atomic demolition munitions
    • XM1 ADM
    • T2 ADM
    • T4
    • Medium Atomic Demolition Munition
    • Special Atomic Demolition Munition
    • Tactical Atomic Demolition Munition
• Soviet Union
  • RDS-4
  • RDS-9
    • T-5 torpedo
• United Kingdom
  • Red Beard (nuclear weapon)
  • Red Snow
  • WE.177
  • Blue Peacock
• France
  • TNA (Airborne nuclear warhead)
• China
  • Kuangbiao-1
• India
  • Shaurya
• Pakistan
  • Nasr (tactical nuclear missile)
• North Korea
  • Hwasan-31

References

References

1. Hans M Kristensen. "Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons (page 8)". FAS.
2. Tannenwald, Nina. "'Limited' Tactical Nuclear Weapons Would Be Catastrophic".
3. (2003). "Tactical nuclear weapons : emergent threats in an evolving security environment". Brassey's.
4. Some weapons could be tactical or strategic at the same time, depending only on the potential enemy. For example, an Indian nuclear missile with a 500 km range is tactical when it is evaluated by Russia but understandably would be considered strategic if evaluated by Pakistan.
5. "Not a Good Idea: American Nukes in South Korea".
6. "Strategic Air Command Declassifies Nuclear Target List from 1950s".
7. Amy F. Woolf. (July 15, 2021). "Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons". [[Congressional Research Service]].
8. Rathbun, Nina Srinivasan. (28 September 2022). "What are tactical nuclear weapons? An international security expert explains and assesses what they mean for the war in Ukraine".
9. "Session 10".
10. Patchen, Martin. (April 1988). "Resolving disputes between nations: coercion or conciliation?". Duke University Press.
11. "Getting to Zero Starts Here: Tactical Nuclear Weapons {{!}} Arms Control Association".
12. Strachan, Hew. (1988-01-01). "European Armies and the Conduct of War". Routledge.
13. (1975). "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists". Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc..
14. "Pugwash Meeting no. 270 - Workshop on Tactical Nuclear Weapons".
15. "Nuclear Threat Initiative {{!}} NTI".
16. "CNS - Tactical Nuclear Weapons: The Nature of the Problem".
17. [http://www.atomictraveler.com/RockIsland.pdf Rock Island Arsenal] atomictraveler.com
18. "Principles of Nuclear Weapons Security and Safety".
19. "Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces [INF] Chronology".
20. "The B61 Bomb".
21. Kristensen, Hans. [https://fas.org/blog/ssp/2011/06/b61-12.php "B61 LEP: Increasing NATO Nuclear Capability and Precision Low-Yield Strikes."] {{Webarchive. link. (April 1, 2013 ''FAS'', 15 June 2011.)
22. Nikolai N. Sokov. (13 March 2013). "Why Russia calls a limited nuclear strike "de-escalation"". [[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]].
23. Elbridge Colby. (February 26, 2016). "The Role of Nuclear Weapons in the U.S.-Russian Relationship". [[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]].
24. Russia's Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons, by Dr. Jacob W. Kipp, Foreign Military Studies Office, Fort Leavenworth; published in Military Review May–June 2001
25. (22 September 2017). "The Myth of Russia's Lowered Nuclear Threshold".
26. (26 November 2019). "The Elusive Russian Nuclear Threshold".
27. Kristensen, Hans. [https://fas.org/blog/ssp/2011/04/natoproposal.php "10 NATO Countries Want More Transparency for Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons."] {{Webarchive. link. (January 30, 2013 ''Federation of American Scientists'', 24 April 2011.)
28. Kristensen, Hans M. [https://fas.org/blogs/security/2012/11/germany-b61/ "Germany and B61 Nuclear Bomb Modernization."] ''FAS'', 13 November 2012.
29. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60664169 Ukraine war: Could Russia use tactical nuclear weapons?] BBC (24/09/2022)
30. [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/24/what-if-vladimir-putin-used-nuclear-weapons-in-ukraine What if Vladimir Putin used nuclear weapons in Ukraine?] Al Jazeera (24 Sep 2022)
31. [https://www.grid.news/story/global/2022/09/21/would-vladimir-putin-let-russia-lose-in-ukraine-before-using-his-nuclear-weapons/ Would Vladimir Putin let Russia lose in Ukraine before using his nuclear weapons?] {{Webarchive. link. (September 29, 2022 Grid (September 21, 2022))
32. [https://time.com/6215610/putin-nuclear-weapons-threat/ 'This Is Not a Bluff.' Putin Raises Specter of Nuclear Weapons Following Battlefield Losses] Time (SEPTEMBER 21, 2022)
33. (25 March 2023). "Putin: Russia to station nuclear weapons in Belarus". [[BBC News]].
34. "MSN".
35. Wilmington, Fox. (2023-12-27). "Belarus claims to have received tactical nuclear weapons from ally Russia {{!}} Fox Wilmington WSFX-TV".
36. "Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after angry exchange with senior Western officials".
37. Usman Ansari. (6 November 2013). "Experts: Missile Test Firing Shows Development Complete".