| Tango01 | 08 Mar 2017 9:15 p.m. PST |
"Reports from Russia indicate a new drone submarine will be armed with a 100-megaton nuclear warhead. "The Russian government daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported that to achieve ‘extensive radioactive contamination' the weapon ‘could envisage using the so-called cobalt bomb, a nuclear weapon designed to produce enhanced amounts of radioactive fallout compared to a regular atomic warhead,'" Schneider said. Retired Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, former commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, has said development of the underwater nuclear strike vehicle is one element of a "troubling" Russian strategic nuclear buildup…"
Main page
link It appears that Dr. Strangelove is alive and well. (smile)
Amicalement
Armand
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| Old Wolfman | 09 Mar 2017 8:02 a.m. PST |
That was the intended yield of the "Tsar Bomba" back in the early 1960's,downgraded to 58 MT when finally tested. |
| Tango01 | 09 Mar 2017 10:54 a.m. PST |
As I have said… (smile)
Amicalement
Armand
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| Lion in the Stars | 09 Mar 2017 11:16 a.m. PST |
Yeah, the STATUS-6 torpedoes are potentially scary. They'd certainly do a number on the East Coast with no warning. And then Russia would cease to exist. |
| Steve Wilcox | 09 Mar 2017 1:17 p.m. PST |
If the US did a full-scale strategic launch in response to that (as opposed to something more proportional), doesn't Russia do the same thing as a counter-response, and then both Russia and the US cease to exist? |
Oberlindes Sol LIC  | 09 Mar 2017 2:56 p.m. PST |
David Lightman: [typing] Later. Let's play Global Thermonuclear War.
Joshua: Fine.
***
Joshua: A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess? |
| bsrlee | 09 Mar 2017 4:38 p.m. PST |
Yep, that is the 'I can't win so I'll make EVERYONE loose badly' bomb. 100 megatons in surface contact would produce massive amounts of fallout as well a pretty much permanently contaminating the area so badly it can't be occupied later. It was a consideration, at least for the US, in planning for airburst bombs – the amount of radioactive residuals was minimized vs the blast and heat effects – you actually want to be able to occupy the affected area afterwards other than in lead coated tanks. |
| 15mm and 28mm Fanatik | 09 Mar 2017 6:17 p.m. PST |
The nuclear arms limitation gains of the post-Soviet era are being rolled back for the very first time under the current US administration as well. Both sides are heading back to a Cold War-era nuclear arms race and mutually assured destruction. |
| zoneofcontrol | 09 Mar 2017 6:30 p.m. PST |
As with the SDI (Star Wars) program of the 70/80s, this is as much of an economic (spending) battle as it is a military asset program. Who can force the opponent to over reach first? |
| Lion in the Stars | 12 Mar 2017 2:49 a.m. PST |
The problem with STATUS-6 is that the torpedoes require a dedicated launching platform. The Russians have built their OSCAR-II class special projects sub Belgorod to carry 6 of these monster torpedoes in place of the cruise missiles, and are working on a modification of the Borei-class SSBN (Khabarovsk-class) for additional hulls. That makes the entire program extremely expensive, even more expensive than new ballistic missiles that would still fit inside the Borei-class tubes, and more expensive than cruise missiles that would fit inside 650mm torpedo tubes. |
ponders nirvana.
