Posted on 03/25/2003 1:17:01 PM PST by vannrox
Edited on 07/12/2004 4:01:59 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
A classified document signed by President Bush specifically allows for the use of nuclear weapons in response to biological or chemical attacks. Apparently changing a decades-old U.S. policy of deliberate ambiguity, it was learned by The Washington Times.
The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the right to respond with overwhelming force including potentially nuclear weapons to the use of [weapons of mass destruction] against the United States, our forces abroad, and friends and allies, the document, National Security Presidential Directive 17, set out on Sept. 14 last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
Note that the "kiloton" rating just means 1000 tons. But the "ton" referred to is the explosive force of one ton of TNT. Modern explosives are much more powerful than TNT, which has an explosive yield of 700 calories per gram.
I have no idea how much more powerful the explosive warhead of the MOAB is compared to TNT. Anyone knowing that could then calculate the fraction of a "kiloton" that the MOAB produces in explosive force. For example, if the MOAB explosive were 5 times as powerful as TNT, knowing the MOAB explosive warhead weighs in at a bit more than 10 tons means that it would (hypothetically) be equivalent to 1/20 of a kiloton. (The MOAB weight has to be multiplied to produce an equivalent TNT "weight".)
Way smaller than a nuke.
Nuclear Bomb | Yield | = to how many Hiroshima blasts | Type | Weight of Bomb |
B28 | 70kt to 1.45 MT | 4.6 - 95 | Fusion | 919kg-1152kg (2,026-2,540 lb) |
B43 | 1MT | 66.6 | Fusion | 934kg-971kg (2,060-2,141 lb) |
B53 | 9MT | 600 | Fusion | 4014kg (8,850 lb) |
B57 | 5kT to 10kT | 0.3 - 0.6 | Fission | 231kg-322kg (509-710 lb) |
B61 | 10kT to 500kT | 0.6 - 33.3 | Boosted Fission | 326kg-347kg (719-765 lb) |
B83 | 1-2 MT | 66.6-133.3 | Fission | 1092kg (2,407 lb) |
Bomb Yield Type Weight ------------------------------------------------------------- B28 70kt to 1.45MT Fusion 919kg to 1152kg B43 1MT Fusion 934kg to 971kg B53 9MT Fusion 4014kg B57 5kT to 10kT Fission 231kg to 322kg B61 10kT to 100kT Boosted Fission 326kg to 347kg B83 MT Fission 1092kg
Mods-3, -4, -10. The Mod-10 is a converted warhead. All have CAT F PALs and IHE. Each Mod has four yield options: The B61-3 (0.3, 1.5, 60, and 170 kilotons), the B61-4 (0.3, 1.5, 10, and 45 kilotons), and the B61-10 (0.3, 5, 10, and 80 kilotons).
The warheads to be disassembled over the next three years (through mid-1999) include the W79 army artillery warheads, the W55 for the SUBROC (submarine rocket), the W69 for the SRAM-A (short-range attack missile), the W56 Minuteman II warhead, and B61 Mod-2 and Mod-5 bombs. The W48 artillery shell (March 1996), the B61 Mod-0 bomb (June 1996), and the W70 for the Lance (February 1996) are warheads for which disassembly has been completed, or is nearly complete.
Warhead | Yield | Use | Year | Status | Remarks |
W69 | 170 | SRAM-A | Year | Status | Remarks |
W55 | Yield | Subroc | Year | Status | Remarks |
W56 | Yield | Minuteman II | Year | Status | Remarks |
W70 | Yield | Lance | Year | Status | Remarks |
W48 | Yield | Artillery shell | Year | Status | Remarks |
W85 | Yield | Pershing II | Year | Status | Remarks |
W87 | 300 | MX missile | Year | Status | Remarks |
W79 | Yield | Artillery shell | Year | Status | Remarks |
W78 | 335 | - | Year | Status | Remarks |
W76 | 100 | Trident I C-4, Trident II D-5 Mk-4 | Year | Status | Remarks |
W88 | 475 | Trident II D-5 Mk-5 | Year | Status | Remarks |
W80-0 | ? | ? | Year | Status | Remarks |
W80-1 | ? | ALCM, ACM | Year | Status | Remarks |
W62 | 170 | - | Year | Status | Remarks |
W28 | 1 Megaton | Hound dog missile | Year | Status | Remarks |
W84 | ? | Ground-launch cruise missiles (GLCMs) | Year | Status | Remarks |
The figures and numbers below are real world guess-estimates based on the averaging of data from many sources including Janes Defense Information Group, the the Russian Aviation Page and the MILNET Military Open Source Encyclopedia. As such this data is not likely to agree with any single source
The Advanced Cruise Missile is the follow-on to the ALCM. It entered into service in 1991, with 1,461 missiles planned, but the program was cut short and only 460 ACMs were produced. The ACM incorporates stealth features to reduce radar cross section and infrared signature and also has greater accuracy and longer range than its predecessor. Many details about this new system remain classified.
One justification put forward for the ACM was the specter of a similar Russian system purported to be in development. The AS-X-19 Koala was touted as a supersonic, long-range, stealthy cruise missile. It was also supposed to be ready for deployment in the early 1990s, though the program was cancelled around 1993. Ironically enough, the U.S. counterpart, the ACM, was cancelled only after several hundred missiles were produced.
Actually, the argument that the ACM was needed because of its improvements over the ALCM do not ring true. The range of the ALCM was better than had been originally reported (2,400 km), and the ACM (3,000 km range) offers little improvement. Likewise, the ACM's small increase in accuracy has no operational significance. The GAO has also concluded that the belief that the ALCM had low survivability, and required the ACM as a replacement, has not been demonstrated. However, given that the ACM has already been procured in large numbers, despite its large, superfluous expense, it will serve well to equip approximately half the the B-52H fleet under START II.
The Advanced Cruise Missile was built as a stealthy replacement for the AGM-86, but the end of the Cold War caused production to be curtailed, and only 461 were built. The ACM carries a W80-1 nuclear warhead (5Kt or 170-200 Kt yield), is 6.84m long with a 3.34m wingspan, weighs 1680kg and has a range of 3000km. It has a number of design features to minimise radar cross-section, including a minimal number of straight edges, low-power sensors, forward-swept wings, fuselage RAM, a flush inlet and shielded exhaust.
Nuclear Bombs
B61-7 10/66 sub to 350 yield # 350 The Mod-7 is a converted Mod-1 with a Cat D PAL IHE and several yield options up to 350 Kt; Weighs 763lb
B61-11 1996 sub to 350 yield # 50 Earth penetrator, modified B61 Mod-7 weighing an additional 450lbs
B83 6/83 low to 1,200 yield # 600 Strategic megaton-range bomb.
B61 Tactical Bomb 3/75 0.3 to 170 AF 400 Mods-3, -4, -10. THe Mod-10 is a converted W85 Pershing II warhead. All three Mods have Cat F PALS and IHE. Each Mod has four yield options. The B61-3 (0.3, 1.5, 60, and 170 Kt.), and the B61-10 (0.3, 5, 10, and 80 Kt).
Country of Origin: USA
Manufacturer: Boeing
Type / Purpose: long range air launched cruise missile
Date in Service: December 1982 for B June 1986 for C
Cost: 1.1 Million dollars
Power Plant: F-107-WR-10 turbofan engine built by Williams Research Corp.
Engine Thrust: 600lb (270 kg)
Max. Range: 1,500 miles (B) 1,200 miles (C)
Speed: 480 knots (890 km/h) about Mach 0.73
Length: 20 ft, 9 in (6.29m)
Diameter of missile body: 24.5 in (623 mm)
Wingspan: 12 ft (3.64m) when wings are fully extended.
Weight: 3,150 lb (1,420 kg)
Warhead: W80-1 nuclear warhead selectable in the 150-170 kiloton range (B) 992-pound high-explosive blast-fragmentation warhead (C)
As you are probably both aware, the initial date for WWII is now considered by many to be the 1931 invasion of Manchuria by Japan. Note the following chronology, including action ranging from Asia, to Africa, to Europe, with the accompanying demise of the League of Nations.
1931 09 18 Japan Invades Manchuria
1933 01 30 Hitler Becomes Chancellor Of Germany
1935 10 03 Italy Invades Abyssinia
1936 03 07 Germany Occupies The Rhineland
1936 07 15 Spanish Civil War Begins
1938 03 12 Germany Annexes Austria
1939 03 15 Germany Occupies Remainder Of Czechoslavakia
1939 03 28 Spanish Civil War Ends
1939 04 07 Italy Invades Albania
1939 08 23 Soviet - German Non - Agression Pact Signed
1939 09 01 Russia Invades Estonia
1939 09 01 Germany Invades Poland
It's a compelling argument, but I don't know if I'm on board yet.
Chemical weapons? But Saddam hasn't any chemical weapons. That's what all the cool and groovy people think, anyway...
And leaked today.
Good, put the 'animals' on notice.
Lets see them show what they've got now.
Too much use of the term
It also sounds like they are taking Sam Cohen's suggestions seriously to convert some existing weapons to smaller neutron weapons.
I don't think we should be equating a MOAB with a nuke. There are too many nuts out there, within and without our borders, who would be glad to claim that we used nukes if we drop a MOAB and pronounce it, erroneously, as having the same effect as a small nuke.
It's a keeper, huh? LOL
The people in the field who would have to "push the button" to carry out such an order are not in that position -- they're ordinary officers who have a reasonable hope of mercy if captured... unless they commit this war crime.
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