If he’s talking about a missile with 16 40MT warheads, it could pretty much do in France.
Something does not add up in this report, which is no surprise coming from today’s media. A Trident II, which is one of the more modern MIRVd missiles, carries 8 to 12 W88 fusion bombs; each with a yield of 475 KT. The W88 is the most advanced weapon we have.
It would seem highly improbable you could create a MIRVd weapon with a yield of 40MT unless there was a break thru on the design of the weapon; such as a theoretical matter/antimatter bomb.
“Something does not add up in this report, which is no surprise coming from today’s media. A Trident II, which is one of the more modern MIRVd missiles, carries 8 to 12 W88 fusion bombs; each with a yield of 475 KT. The W88 is the most advanced weapon we have.
It would seem highly improbable you could create a MIRVd weapon with a yield of 40MT unless there was a break thru on the design of the weapon; such as a theoretical matter/antimatter bomb.”
The W88 warhead is described at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W88
It was designed in the 1970s (so, one would think, further technological progress would make higher yields possible), and it and its “physics package” (what makes it go “boom!”) weigh about 800 pounds. We can fit 12 of them onto a Trident II missile.
The Satan missile that the Russians have would simply require similar (i.e. 40-year-old) technology to the W88, and both more thrust and more physical space at the top of the missile (to fit 16 larger warheads, vs. 12 smaller ones). I’m no expert, but the RS-28 Sarmat missile weighs in at over 100 tons; the Trident II missile weighs in at 130,000 pounds (65 tons). It seems logical that the extra weight would allow for a greater throw-weight for the missile, sufficient to hold 16 2.5 megaton warheads.
So, yes, it does add up. What DOESN’T add up is that 16 2.5 megaton warheads can “destroy an area the size of France.” That is pure bunk, pure hocum. See my post # 51 for the debunking of this sensationalist claim by the writer.