A
tactical nuclear weapon (or
TNW) refers to a
nuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion...
which is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations. This is as opposed to
strategic nuclear weaponA strategic nuclear weapon refers to a nuclear weapon which is designed to be used on targets as part of a strategic plan, such as nuclear missile locations, military command centers and large cities....
s which are designed to threaten large populations, to damage the enemy's ability to wage war, or for general deterrence. No tactical nuclear weapon has ever been used in an actual conflict.
They were a large part of the peak
nuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion...
s stockpile levels during the
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
.
Tactical weapons include not only
gravity bombAn unguided bomb is an aircraft-delivered bomb that does not contain a guidance system and hence, simply follows a ballistic trajectory.....
s and short-range
missileA missile is a self-propelled projectile used as a weapon. Missiles are typically propelled by rockets or jet engines. Missiles generally have one or more explosive warheads, although other weapon types may also be used...
s, but also artillery shells,
land mineA land mine is a target triggered explosive weapon. Their non-explosive predecessors have been used on the battlefield since ancient times. Landmines were designed to be used to deter, channel, delay and kill an enemy. They have been used in various formats, for centuries and have featured in all...
s,
depth chargeThe depth charge is an anti-submarine weapon intended to defeat its target by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a predetermined depth. Some have been designed to use nuclear warheads...
s, and
torpedoThe modern torpedo is a self-propelled explosive projectile weapon, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater toward a target, and designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target...
es for
anti-submarine warfareAnti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
, with nuclear warheads.
A
tactical nuclear weapon (or
TNW) refers to a
nuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion...
which is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations. This is as opposed to
strategic nuclear weaponA strategic nuclear weapon refers to a nuclear weapon which is designed to be used on targets as part of a strategic plan, such as nuclear missile locations, military command centers and large cities....
s which are designed to threaten large populations, to damage the enemy's ability to wage war, or for general deterrence. No tactical nuclear weapon has ever been used in an actual conflict.
They were a large part of the peak
nuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion...
s stockpile levels during the
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
.
Types
Tactical weapons include not only
gravity bombAn unguided bomb is an aircraft-delivered bomb that does not contain a guidance system and hence, simply follows a ballistic trajectory.....
s and short-range
missileA missile is a self-propelled projectile used as a weapon. Missiles are typically propelled by rockets or jet engines. Missiles generally have one or more explosive warheads, although other weapon types may also be used...
s, but also artillery shells,
land mineA land mine is a target triggered explosive weapon. Their non-explosive predecessors have been used on the battlefield since ancient times. Landmines were designed to be used to deter, channel, delay and kill an enemy. They have been used in various formats, for centuries and have featured in all...
s,
depth chargeThe depth charge is an anti-submarine weapon intended to defeat its target by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a predetermined depth. Some have been designed to use nuclear warheads...
s, and
torpedoThe modern torpedo is a self-propelled explosive projectile weapon, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater toward a target, and designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target...
es for
anti-submarine warfareAnti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
, with nuclear warheads. Also in this category were the former nuclear-warheaded surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), ground-based or shipborne, and air-to-air missiles.
Small, two-man portable, or truck-portable, tactical weapons (sometimes misleadingly referred to as suitcase nukes), such as the
Special Atomic Demolition MunitionThe Special Atomic Demolition Munition was a family of man-portable nuclear weapons fielded by the US military in the 1960s, but was never used in actual combat. The US Army planned to use the weapons in Europe in the event of a Soviet invasion...
, have been developed, although the difficulty of combining sufficient yield with portability could limit their military utility. In wartime, such explosives could be used for demolishing "choke-points" to enemy offensives, such as at
tunnelA tunnel is an underground passageway. The definition of what constitutes a tunnel is not universally agreed upon. However, in general tunnels are at least twice as long as they are wide. In addition, they should be completely enclosed on all sides, save for the openings at each end...
s, narrow mountain passes, and long
viaductA viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
s.
Other new tactical weapons undergoing research include earth penetrating weapons which are designed to target enemy-held caves or deep-underground bunkers.
The
yieldThe explosive yield of a nuclear weapon is the amount of energy that is discharged when a nuclear weapon is detonated, expressed usually in the equivalent mass of trinitrotoluene , either in kilotons or megatons , but sometimes also in terajoules...
of tactical nuclear weapons is generally lower than that of strategic nuclear weapons, but they are still very powerful, and some variable-yield warheads serve in both roles. Modern tactical nuclear warheads have yields up to the tens of kilotons, or potentially hundreds, several times that of the weapons used in the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and NagasakiThe atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at the executive order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman on August 6 and August 9, 1945, respectively...
.
Some tactical nuclear weapons have specific features meant to enhance their battlefield characteristics, such as
variable yieldVariable yield, or dial-a-yield is an option available on most modern nuclear weapons. It allows the operator to specify a weapon's yield, or explosive power, allowing a single design to be used in different situations...
which allow their explosive power to be varied over a wide range for different situations, or enhanced radiation weapons (the so-called "
neutron bombA neutron bomb, technically referred to as an enhanced radiation weapon , is a type of tactical nuclear weapon formerly built mainly by the United States specifically to release a large portion of its energy as energetic neutron radiation...
s") which are meant to maximize ionizing radiation exposure while minimizing blast effects.
Controversy and criticism
The development of tactical weapons has often been criticized along a number of grounds. Many have argued that the promise of being able to wage a "limited" nuclear war with tactical weapons is dangerously misleading, and that any confrontation between nuclear powers could lead to
escalationEscalation is the phenomenon of something getting more intense step by step, for example a quarrel, or, notably, military presence and nuclear armament during the Cold War. The term is often said to be originally coined by Herman Kahn in his 1965 work On Escalation...
and eventually the use of strategic weapons. Additionally, the small size of many tactical weapons make them potential targets for theft and
nuclear terrorismNuclear terrorism denotes the use, or threat of the use, of nuclear weapons or radiological weapons in acts of terrorism, includingattacks against facilities where radioactive materials are present...
, especially during times of political instability (such as the case of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
immediately after the dissolution of the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
). Tactical nuclear weapons have in the past made up a large part of the nuclear arsenals of the United States, the Soviet Union, the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, and
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, and they were a major part in the peak stockpile levels in the 1960s. For example, the
British Army of the RhineThere have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after World War I, and the other after World War II....
in Germany formerly was nuclear-armed, but not anymore.
Conversely, some theorists argued during the Cold War that without tactical nuclear weapons, the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
would not have had a credible threat against the large armies of the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
, since it was unlikely that they would want to be the first to use
strategic nuclear weaponA strategic nuclear weapon refers to a nuclear weapon which is designed to be used on targets as part of a strategic plan, such as nuclear missile locations, military command centers and large cities....
s in warfare. Because many felt that the use of
any nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union would have triggered an exchange of strategic missile launches, though, the practical distinctions between tactical and strategic weapons might not have existed, in a way.
Uses
The uses on the battlefield for TNWs would include:
- Against a large ground force
- Against a fortified underground bunker
- Against remote and/or heavily-defended target locations difficult or impossible to reach with conventional weapons
- Against a carrier battle group or any collection of surface vessels
- Against a large amphibious invasion force
- Against a 100+ vehicle supply convoy
- Against a squadron of strategic bombers
Common names
- Backpack nukes
- Suitcase bomb
A suitcase nuke is a tactical nuclear weapon which uses, or is portable enough that it could use, a suitcase as its delivery method. Synonyms include suitcase bomb, backpack nuke, or mini-nuke.-Production of suitcase nukes:...
s (however, this name can be misleading as it can encompass other types of non-nuclear munitions)
- Tactical nukes
- Atomic bazookas
Examples
- B57 nuclear bomb
The B57 nuclear bomb was a tactical nuclear weapon developed by the United States during the Cold War.Entering production in 1963 as the Mk 57, the bomb was designed to be dropped from high-speed tactical aircraft. It had a streamlined casing to withstand supersonic flight. It was 3 m long, with a...
- :Category:Nuclear mines
- Blue Peacock
Blue Peacock—dubbed by the press the chicken-powered nuclear bomb—was the codename of a British tactical nuclear weapon project in the 1950s with the goal to store a number of ten-kiloton nuclear mines in Germany, to be placed at target locations on the North German Plain in the event of war. The...
- Medium Atomic Demolition Munition
Medium Atomic Demolition Munition was a tactical nuclear weapon developed by the United States during the Cold War. They were designed to be used as nuclear land mines and for other tactical purposes, with a relatively low explosive yield from a W45 warhead, between 1 and 15 kilotons —...
- M-388 Davy Crockett
The M-388 Davy Crockett was a tactical nuclear recoilless rifle projectile that was deployed by the United States during the Cold War. It was named after American soldier, Congressman and folk hero Davy Crockett .-Development:...
- Red Beard
Red Beard was the first British tactical nuclear weapon. It was carried by the English Electric Canberra and the V bombers of the Royal Air Force, and by the Blackburn Buccaneers, Sea Vixens and Supermarine Scimitars of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm...
- Special Atomic Demolition Munition
The Special Atomic Demolition Munition was a family of man-portable nuclear weapons fielded by the US military in the 1960s, but was never used in actual combat. The US Army planned to use the weapons in Europe in the event of a Soviet invasion...