Posted on 07/28/2020 7:02:27 PM PDT by AggregateThreat
ere's What You Need to Remember: A “suitcase nuke” is essentially a nuclear device so small, it could be transported in a backpack or in a person’s luggage.
Tactical nuclear weapons — compacts, small-yield atomic bombs that are not necessarily designed to be rained down on cities from bomber aircraft, nor delivered via Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles, but could be an artillery shell, a nuclear torpedo, landmine, or other small and easily transportable devices.
One of these tactical nuclear devices is the so-called “backpack” or “suitcase nuke” — essentially a nuclear device so small, it could be transported in a backpack or in a person’s luggage.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalinterest.org ...
I think we get this same story every five years or so.
ACK!
Triggers wear out...
Used to have steady customer at the shop who claimed to have been a tech for these decades ago.
No way to know if true or not but the part of his story that made me go WTH was his claim that his location at the time was Panama.
Why would we have such in Panama?
He never got specific but did seem to have pretty plausible general knowledge about the subject.
Only reason I could ever come up with for Panama would be an emergency shut-down of the canal?
Missing suitcase nukes? Has anyone checked Ebay and Amazon?
Weren’t these bombs also called something like MDTs?
This is very old news.
Just wait ‘till the BLM rioters get them.
The smallest nuke I recall was an ASW device that was designed
to displace 1 cubic mile of water. It dropped by ASW aircraft. Basically a nuke depth charge.
in the early 50’s our Army had a 280 mm cannon that fired a nuke projectile. Also, the Navy engineered a nuke projectile for the 16 inch guns on the Iowa class battleships. I know the Army did actually fire a nuke from their gun. Don’t think the Navy every tried to shoot their 16 inch nuke projo.
There is one of those guns parked in front of War of the Memorial Museum, here in Newport News, VA.
One of the cold war authors, back in the late 70s early 80s wrote a book wherein the Soviets had a flagpole company that supplied poles to locations, govt installations, bases all over the US. They were installing mini nukes in the ornamental balls at the tops. When enough were in place thay would set them all off at once. Really scary story for its sheer simplicity.
100%
“are very hazardous to your health if you just stick them in your basement and forget about them. ;-)”
Oh crap!
Looks like I won’t have to exaggerate my accomplishments this year! *bada*boom*kisk*
Strategic Air Command used to send out a case of books every month to the underground ICBM Launch Control Centers. That book was in one of those cases and one Alert I didn't want to study for my Masters degree so I read that book. IIRC the ending was unsettling.
As I understand, these devices have radioactive material to scatter, but at this point would have to be reconstituted to actually have a thermonuclear detonation, as the trigger half-lives have reduced them to non-functionality.
They’ll have to be reworked due to a limited shelf life. Few terrorists have the skills needed to do so.
One of my favorite comedy/drama movies.
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