Apocalypse now? "Dozens of Russia's nuclear weapons are missing"

Times/U.K. ^ | Tuesday, October 23, 2001 | GILES WHITTELL

[harpseal]

The specific destructive capability of most of the Backpack nuclear demolition devices the USA developed are in the 1 to 5 KT range. It is theoretically possible to achieve yields of up to 50 kt from such a device I do not know specifics about the Soviet models. If one is going beyond man portable then and will to consider transport by motor vehicle then any yeild up to the maximum developed capability is theoretically possible. The big secret with these devices is keeping them small enough and light enough for one person to carry. Once the threshhold of weight greater than 100 kg is crossed then it is a question of how modern the design is.

I note the Pakistani bombs are likely not man portable but they could very weasily be welded to the hull of a ship entering a US port and detonated by some means while there.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[shezza]

For more info on Russian capabilities, take a gander at this little tidbit:
Biological Weapons

[Poohbah]

I looked it over--some of this stuff is comical. "Copper cable" probably translates to "we stole it when no one was looking." Other stuff looks like it's complete BS. Welcome to the Yard Sale at the End of History. Eat your heart out, Mr. Fukuyama.

[drmatt]

A gun-type device could explain their interest in highly-enriched uranium instead of plutonium.

[rdavis84]

"Btw, we are running into the same problems with upkeep of our own nukes, if I remember correctly. I seem to remember that the upkeep window is about 6 to 7 years for Tritium swapout."

Very valid comment.

We're supposedly using the necessary Tritium from deactivated Nukes to replenish.

[rdavis84]

An atomic or A-bomb may be constructed using a few tens of kilograms of highly enriched fissile uranium. This requires an enrichment plant to raise the low content of the fissile isotope of uranium (U235 at 0.7%) existing naturally, to a very high level of concentration (> 90%) by displacing the normally non-fissile isotope U238. Large quantities of natural uranium, in the form of milled uranium, refined to yellowcake and then converted to uranium hexafluoride, are required for this process. The depleted uranium (U238) by- product can be used as part of the fissile core of a nuclear warhead, first to contain the nuclear process and, instants later, contributing to the fission energy release.

To increase the yield and reliability of yield of an A- bomb, the enriched uranium can be replaced with a few kilograms of highly fissile plutonium. Plutonium is produced by reprocessing natural or low-enriched uranium spent fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor. This requires a fuel fabrication plant, a moderated or thermal reactor, and a reprocessing or chemical separation plant.

To advance the design of an A-bomb, it is advantageous to boost the initial fissioning of the plutonium. This is achieved by introducing a spurt of neutrons to the fissile heart of the warhead, either with a small pea- sized source of radioactive polonium combined with beryllium, or by creating neutrons from the fusing a few grams of radioactive tritium and deuterium. Both of these techniques require a nuclear reactor to generate the radioactive materials, and conventional chemical plants to isolate either the deuterium or beryllium, and to provide lithium as a source of tritium.

The yield of the warhead can be increased if the atomic fission stage, the A-bomb, is used to trigger a second stage involving fusion. This is the basis of a thermonuclear or H-bomb. For this, the intense and almost instantaneous energy of the A-bomb is deployed to fuse a few kilograms of tritium and deuterium. The tritium is generated within the warhead from a fusion fuel of lithium-deuteride, a simple hydride of lithium metal and heavy water, produced by conventional chemical processes. Further increase in the nuclear yield is gained if the energy from the fusion stage is applied to fissioning a mantle of depleted uranium (U238).

[JJ59]

ComChina would be a good supplier of fresh suitcase nukes. I would say China has the tech. to make them. Making on time delivery as needed. China brings suitcase into the USA via CosCo or some other ChiCom controlled entity.

A Bin Laden cell picks up the nuke and uses it at the right time and place.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Outstanding post #51, harpseal. Thank you.

[JJ59]

.....and we need to finish the Palestine question. In the former we should just declare that we have achieved our goals and call it quits, in the latter we just draw lines and create a viable Palestinian state. Sadly for Israel, this can not be done in Palestine without retracting the lands Israel promised of the purpose but then stole back.

What nonsense. So what if you don't like Israel. Giving the Pallies the West Bank and Gaza won't stop these Islamics. Bin Laden wants us out of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Where the action really is. This is where the black gold is. Rag tag Palestinians with their mortar attacks, boy rock throwers and suicide bombers are a side show.

Saudi oil, Kuwaiti oil and all of Gulf oil is center stage.

[Poohbah]

Uh-huh. And when spectrographic analysis of the fallout reveals that it was made in China (easily done, when you consider that China has had a BUNCH of atmospheric tests for us to take fallout samples from), the resulting US retaliation destroys China as any sort of viable nation-state.

And the Chinese KNOW this. They aren't stupid.

[harpseal]

/Blush.

Thank you for the kind words from one whose prose is always worth the read.

We are in a war for survival of our nation and ourselves and we had better start realizing it. I do not have any claim as a great thinker or philosopher here on free Republic but I jave been in combat and I know you do not screw arround in combat or somebody is going to cause your loved ones to get a message you will not be coming home.

Anyone who thinks this is a game has not been paying attention. Julius Ceaser when he crossed the Rubicon said "The die is cast." Well the USA has crossed its Rubicon on September 11, 2001 and we had all best start understanding what that implies. We no longer can indulge in Political Correctness or halfway measures in the war or we are going to get flamed and the result will be our ashes in a heap of rubble.

The NBC threshhold has been crossed already. We haven't done it but we are on the recieving end of a bio-warfare attack.

Stay well - stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[Victoria Delsoul]

Well said, harpseal! Thanks so much for your response.

[JJ59]

Well how about this: ComChina makes 5 suitcase nukes that are untraceable. That are not made from the materials usually used. Suitcase nukes are unusually made to begin with. Different than your average atomic bomb. My speculations of course.

[harpseal]

Uh-huh. And when spectrographic analysis of the fallout reveals that it was made in China (easily done, when you consider that China has had a BUNCH of atmospheric tests for us to take fallout samples from), the resulting US retaliation destroys China as any sort of viable nation-state.

I think you are making to great an assumption here. Most of the raioactove fallout is as a result of the exposure of the material in the blast area to intense radiation itself a large flux of neutrons. Definitive proof of the source of a nuclear weapon that has exploded can not be garned from the fallout. Given the nature of the initial fission which triggers the fusion and then the secondary fission of the U238 casing the rare traces of identifiable products would be most unlikely.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[Poohbah]

You still need bomb-grade uranium or plutonium. It's not like you can go down to Osco Drug and buy it--there are a VERY few facilities in the world that produce such goods, and they are very well known, their output is very tightly controlled, and their products are easily identified via remote sensing tools. Chinese bombs will be built with Chinese materials. Those materials will be easily identified as Chinese. Allowing Osama bin Laden to detonate 5 suitcase nukes in America, leaving a nice radioactive finger pointing at Beijing, is really stupid. In return for inconsequential damage to America, the Chinese Politburo would sign their death warrant. Now, maybe Osama would be dumb enough to sign off on this. The problem is that the Chinese aren't that stupid, and they are the ones with the nukes, not Osama.

[Poohbah]

Not true--read Chuck Hansen's stuff. During the Cold War and the era of atmospheric testing, we were able to identify not only which reactor or reactors a bomb's components came from, but which PART of the reactor, just from the fallout. It's how we monitored the progress of the Russian nuclear weapons program before the U-2, as well--we were able to ID whether a given bomb came from the same reactor as "Joe I," or whether the Russians had built a new one.

[sourcery]

Ok. Put up or shut up. Publish a link to the demands of the terrorists, where they clearly state "do x, and we will stop our attacks, otherwise we will continue them."

[harpseal]

I have read that but a large part of those deductions were based upon knowing and comparing the exact nature of the areas of the test. Further, the analysis was not completed in a day a week or a month. I am very aware of the released material and it just is not clear that we have the data that would give us this information and the changes since China started its underground tests are certainly not a part of the database which could be used for comparison.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[JJ59]

it's the pictures of Palestinians kids being knee capped by the barbarous behaviour of the Israeli ethnic cleaners.........

My heavens. Such crude Arab propaganda they must get in their Islamic state TV and state controlled press. Hardly a balanced image. The rest of the world sees the real images of Islamic barbarism. Suicide bombers. World Trade Towers being attacked with 5000+ Americans dead.
Got a newsflash for you ace. The Palestinian rock throwers are out and the Palestinian gunmen are in. And yes, Israel can and does shoot back.