Thursday, May 30, 2002

Comparing India and Pakistan’s strategic nuclear weapon capabilities - Jane's International Security News

I don't suppose there are any Jane's subscribers out there? How about someone who knows one? This partial article is pretty scary by itself: India's second generation warheads, mounted on their "Agni" missiles, are thought to have a yield of up to 200 kilotons. The Nagaski bomb (the more powerful of the two dropped on Japan) was 22 KT. Its yields for Pakistani bombs are closer to older Indian weapons, 20-25 KT, but says they have 25-50 warheads. Even given the lower number, and the possibility that some would be held back and some might not work or be misdelivered... You're still talking maybe ten bombs, all probably more powerful than the Nagasaki device.

To give you some idea... The New Scientist article I linked last Friday gave an estimate of 3 million dead, directly, in an Indian/Pakistani nuclear exchange. But that was for only five detonations for each side of Nagasaki-type bombs. If each side uses ten, Pakistan could be more or less destroyed, along with much of northern India. It wouldn't be pleasant for anyone else south of the Himalayas, either.

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