India and Pakistan's nuclear program. Weapons of Mass Destruction: Pakistan Nuclear Forces. Nuclear weapons India-Pakistan
http://www.left.ru/2004/4/dikson103.html
Http://www.nti.org/i_russian/i_e4_pak.html
http://www.newsru.com/world/29Oct2001/pakis_nuclear.htmlNuclear weapon:
In the mid-seventies, Pakistan began enriching uranium to build a nuclear weapons capability. By the mid-eighties Pakistan had a secret uranium enrichment facility; already in 1989-1990, the United States came to the conclusion that Islamabad had acquired the necessary potential to assemble a first-generation nuclear device. Pakistan's reserves are estimated to be approximately 580-800 kg of highly enriched uranium - enough mass to create 30-50 atomic bombs. In 1998, Pakistan commissioned the Khushab research reactor, which is capable of producing 10-15 kg of weapons-grade plutonium per year. According to the US, China helped Pakistan by providing it with nuclear materials and providing scientific and technical assistance. Islamabad conducted nuclear tests in May 1998, shortly after India tested its weapons and declared itself a nuclear-weapon state. Pakistan has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Http://www.armscontrol.ru/course/lectures03a/aas30318a.htm
I apologize ... but I want to cite the full article one last time .... sorry again ..
Pakistani nuclear weapons delivery vehicles
A.M. Tronov, A.K. Lukoyanov
The leadership of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, simultaneously with the creation of nuclear weapons, planned to use them in various combat conditions and to engage enemy targets at different distances. Taking into account the solution of these problems, Islamabad also developed various options for delivery vehicles for nuclear warheads - from aircraft to ballistic missiles.
US-made F-16 aircraft should be considered among the delivery vehicles for nuclear weapons. Although the Pakistani Air Force will be able to use in this case and French Mirage V aircraft or Chinese A-5. Twenty-eight F-16A (singles) and 12 F-16Bs (doubles) were delivered between 1983 and 1987. At least eight of them are no longer in service.
In 1985, the US Congress passed the "Pressler Amendment" aimed at prohibiting Pakistan from building an atomic bomb. Under this amendment, Pakistan could not receive economic and military assistance if the US president could not verify that Islamabad did not possess a nuclear device. This also applied to possible means of delivering nuclear weapons. However, while there was ample evidence of nuclear weapons development in Pakistan, Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr. turned a blind eye to this mainly because of their increased anti-Soviet activities in the Afghan conflict. After the war in Afghanistan ended, sanctions were finally imposed on Pakistan. This happened on October 6, 1990. In March 2005, George W. Bush agreed to sell the F-16 to Pakistan. In the first phase, these deliveries included 24 F-16 aircraft.
It should also be noted that, according to the Press trust of India, in March 2005, Pakistan officially began production of the joint Pakistani-Chinese fighter JF-17. A ceremony dedicated to this event was held at the aviation enterprise in the city of Kamra, where the aircraft will be produced. The President of the country Pervez Musharraf took part in it.
With the help of Chinese specialists, the F-16 will be upgraded for use as a carrier of nuclear weapons. First of all, they will be equipped with squadrons 9 and 11 at Sargodhi airbase, 160 km north-west of Lahore.
The F-16 has a range of more than 1600 km and can be extended further by upgrading the fuel tanks. Given the limitations on the weight and size of the F-16 payload, the bomb probably weighs about 1000 kg, and it is most likely that the nuclear warhead is suspended in full combat readiness at one or even several Pakistani air bases.
Note that, in principle, assembled nuclear bombs or their components just for such aircraft can be stored at an ammunition depot near Sargodha.
Alternatively, nuclear weapons could be stored near the Afghan border. This option is also possible, but for specialists this information is a kind of distracting, because there are clear obligations of the Pakistani authorities to the United States about the non-deployment of nuclear components in the territories adjacent to Afghanistan.
Pakistan uses the Ghauri missile as a delivery vehicle for nuclear weapons, although other missiles in the Pakistani military could be upgraded to carry a nuclear warhead. Ghauri-1 was successfully tested on April 6, 1998 at a distance of 1,100 km, probably with a payload of up to 700 kg. According to experts, the rocket was launched near the city of Jhelum in northeastern Pakistan, 100 km southeast of Islamabad, and hit a target near Quetta in the southwest.
The Ghauri-2 two-stage ballistic missile was tested on April 14, 1999, three days after the Indian Agni-2 missile was tested. The launch was carried out from a mobile launcher at Ding, near Jelum, and the rocket landed at Jiwani, off the southwest coast, after an eight-minute flight.
The third version of "Ghauri" with an unconfirmed range of 2500-3000 km is in development, but on August 15, 2000 it was already tested.
There is information that there is also a Khataf-V Ghauri missile, the test of which was allegedly carried out in early June 2004. It is said to have a range of 1,500 km and can deliver any charge weighing up to 800 kg. The location of the test was not reported. It was as if the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, was present. This was the second test of a similar missile in a week (1).
The choice of the name "Ghauri" (2) is very symbolic. The Muslim Sultan Mahammad Ghauri defeated the Hindu ruler Praithvi Chauhan in 1192. Plus, "Praithwie" is the name India gave to its short-range ballistic missile.
Using its political intrigue with Beijing against India, Islamabad was able to obtain not only M-11 missiles, but also documentation for their production and maintenance... Since 1992, 30 or more M-11 missiles from China have been delivered to Pakistan. Subsequently, Beijing's help was manifested in the construction of facilities for servicing and storing missiles. Therefore, Pakistan can produce its own Tarmuk missile based on the M-11, which it is doing very successfully.
The war with India is more than a real factor, which is the top priority of the entire economic and political life of Pakistan. This idea has occupied and continues to occupy the heads of the generals of Islamabad, Delhi and Beijing. That is why billions of dollars go to the production of already technically developed delivery vehicles and the same amount of money goes to the creation of new missile systems. In particular, the Chinese M-9 missile "Shahin" -1 ("Eagle"), redesigned in Pakistan, has a flight range of 700 km and can carry a payload of 1000 kg. Pakistan conducted an initial flight test of the Shahin from the coastal town of Sonmiani on April 15, 1999.
At the March 23 parade in 2000, Islamabad demonstrated the Shahin-2 two-stage medium-range missile, as well as a 2500 km missile capable of carrying a 1000-kilogram payload. The rocket was transported on a mobile launcher with 16 wheels. It is quite possible that both missiles can carry nuclear warheads.
In November 2000, Pakistan decided to place its key nuclear facilities under the control of the National Nuclear Weapons Control Committee. The new government, established in February 2000, set out to create an effective nuclear command and control system.
The events of September 11, 2000 served as a reason for strengthening measures against the use of nuclear weapons by terrorists. Pakistan, as a loyal and more than devoted ally of the United States, immediately stepped up the security of its nuclear warhead storage facilities and their delivery vehicles.
According to press reports, the Pakistani armed forces moved nuclear weapons components to new secret sites in the two days after September 11, 2000. General Pervez Musharraf has taken several active measures to organize the security of the country's nuclear arsenal. Thus, in particular, six new secret storage and storage facilities for nuclear weapons components were installed.
In early March 2004, Pakistan tested a medium-range ballistic missile that can easily strike any city in India.
The Pakistani Defense Ministry said in a statement that the tests of the two-stage Shahin-2 missile were successful. According to Reuters, the creation of Pakistani science and engineering can carry a nuclear warhead up to 2,000 km (3). Pakistan said it considers the missile test sufficient to deter aggression and "prevent military pressure."
India was warned of the trials in advance. Note that in early March 2004, India signed an agreement with Israel on the purchase of the Falcon airborne radar station. The system can detect planes several kilometers away and intercept radio transmissions over much of Pakistan, including the disputed state of Kashmir.
In the first decade of October 2004, tests were carried out on medium-range ballistic missiles "Hatf-5" ("Ghauri"), during which all conventional targets of the alleged enemy were successfully hit.
This rocket runs on liquid fuel and, as noted by some agencies, was developed on the basis of Korean technologies (4). This rocket is capable of carrying a nuclear charge and covering a distance of up to 1500 km.
In April 2006, it was reported that Islamabad had conducted new tests of the Hatf-6 medium-range ballistic missile with an increased range of up to 2500 km. These tests, according to the Pakistani military, were successful. As noted in one of the reports, "the tests were carried out with the aim of confirming a number of additional technical parameters, in addition to those that were verified during the last launch, carried out in March 2005" (5).
In Pakistan, the means of delivery of nuclear weapons, unlike India, are limited air force and missiles, which are being improved with the help of China.
In its technical equipment, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has reached full parity with the United States of India and is already ahead of its neighbor in some types of delivery.
The supposed evolution of the technical development of Pakistan's rocketry makes it possible to draw a conclusion about the appearance in the very near future in its arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Nuclear program of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
In the political and military confrontation between India and Pakistan and the desire of both countries to take a leading position in the Asia-Pacific region, the nuclear component occupies a special place, since it creates a real threat not only for both countries, but also for the entire region of South Asia. The intensive development of the missile programs of both countries also makes it possible to speak of an increasing threat to the security of South-West Asia. The starting point for the development of Pakistan's nuclear program can be considered the creation of the Commission on nuclear energy in 1956, much later than the Indian one. Its founder was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, originally as the Minister of Fuel, Energy and natural resources , and later as president and prime minister. However, unlike the Indian nuclear program, which developed gradually, the beginning of the Pakistani nuclear program has a strictly defined date - January 24, 1972, when, at a meeting with physicists and engineers in the city of Multan, Z. Bhutto clearly outlined the task of obtaining Pakistan's own "Islamic nuclear bombs ". The reason for this was the defeat of Pakistan in the war with India in 1971 for East Pakistan, as a result of which a new state appeared in the world - the Republic of Bangladesh, Pakistan lost more than half of its population, a huge territory. Despite the close relationship with the People's Republic of China that developed over the past ten years, during the most acute confrontation, China's military and political assistance was small. He was unable to organize any pressure on India, in the form of a concentration of troops near the state border, conducting large-scale exercises, transferring large batches of weapons and military equipment to an ally, etc. Divided into two parts, left without allies, Pakistan, on the example of this war, showed a complete inability to defeat the Indian Armed Forces using conventional weapons. According to Bhutto, Pakistan's nuclear weapons were supposed to establish parity between the huge number of Indian armed forces and the few, but armed with nuclear charges, Pakistani armed forces. In addition, Pakistan is taking the nuclear program more seriously after India successfully tested a "peaceful" nuclear charge with a capacity of 25 kT in TNT equivalent in 1974. However, the process of obtaining nuclear weapons is long and requires large financial costs, as well as a great political desire and courage. In addition, it is necessary to have its own uranium reserves in order not to depend on foreign supplies. Dera Gazia Khan has been identified as a promising uranium ore deposit, although it is of relatively low grade, i.e. contains only a few kilograms of uranium per ton (compared to tens of kilograms in high-quality ore in Canada or Australia). Moreover, from the very beginning of the program, it is necessary to choose the direction - uranium (cheap, but dead-end) or plutonium (expensive, but allowing the development of modern nuclear devices and means of their delivery). Both directions represent a combination of many high-tech processes, currently available only to a number of developed countries, because USA, Russia, UK, France, Canada. There is a practice of legal trade in radioactive fuel processing technologies in the world, which brings huge profits. However, all processes are limited to the peaceful use of nuclear energy and no country will sell the full technology for the production of military nuclear weapons. Nuclear power plants do not allow solving the problem of obtaining a charge, it is necessary to continue the "chain" - plants for enriching uranium or processing plutonium, as well as the technology for the production of the warhead itself (warhead, aerial bomb, artillery charge) from the obtained uranium or weapons-grade plutonium. Scientists from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and representatives of the Interdepartmental Intelligence have succeeded in doing the impossible in the face of an acute shortage of funds and international economic and political pressure. The technology of a full cycle of nuclear weapons production was obtained from various sources in a short time. The first real step in the development of the program was the construction of the Center for Nuclear Research in Islamabad and then, after providing US assistance in the amount of $ 350 thousand in 1960, the construction of a 5 MW light water research reactor, which began functioning in 1965. At the same time, not having at that time the necessary
scientific and technical potential, the government of Z. Bhutto decided to go along the second, more technologically complex way of creating weapons-grade plutonium. To this end, in 1970 with Canada, and then in February 1976 with France, contracts were concluded for the construction of a nuclear power plant with heavy water reactors and plants for its production in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In 1976, the Canadian project in Karachi was fully completed and commissioned, the French project was frozen in 1978 at the completion stage (the first power unit at the nuclear power plant in the city of Chasma and the plant for the production of "heavy water" were completely built), when completely the nuclear ambitions of the IRP leadership became clear. France had to refuse to continue cooperation, including after the pressure exerted by the United States. However, a number of French technological documents on reprocessing nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants remained at the disposal of the Nuclear Energy Commission. The main breakthrough in Pakistan's nuclear program was made in 1975 with the emergence of Dr. Abdul Qadir Khan, thanks to whose activities the technology and projects of uranium enrichment centrifuges appeared in the country. The basis of any military nuclear program is the production of special nuclear materials required for weapons - plutonium or enriched uranium. The main part of the IRP nuclear program was concentrated on the constructed uranium enrichment plant using centrifuge technology and design illegally appropriated from the European consortium URENCO (Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands), which produces gas centrifuges. Abdul Qadir Khan managed to convince the Pakistani government of the need to develop the "uranium" direction of the nuclear program, which requires less financial costs and simpler technological equipment. For the production of a "uranium" charge, there is no need to build a reactor for the production of weapons-grade plutonium and a plant for its further processing, it is enough to have the technology of uranium enrichment in centrifuges. Thus, Abdul Qadir Khan founded the Technical Research Laboratories in Kahuta in 1976, later called Khan's NIL. Another powerful impetus for the development of Pakistan's nuclear program was the signing in 1986 of the Pakistani-Chinese agreement in the field of nuclear research. In the course of the implementation of this agreement, the Chinese side transferred the technology for manufacturing a nuclear charge with a capacity of 25 kT. This device is a prototype of the first unguided American and Soviet nuclear charges, weighing about a ton. In addition, the China National Nuclear Corporation sent its specialists to the Khan Research Laboratory in order to establish gas centrifuges. In 1996, the PRC also received 5,000 ring magnets for the installation of more modern uranium enrichment facilities. Intensive cooperation with the PRC in the nuclear field pushed the IRP government to develop a parallel program to create a charge based on weapons-grade plutonium, which was closed in 1976. In the mid-1990s, with the help of Chinese specialists, the first “heavy water” reactor was built and reached its full capacity at a nuclear power plant in the area of \u200b\u200bKhushab (Sind Ave.). This circumstance, as well as the plutonium reprocessing technology obtained from France in 1974-76, allowed Pakistan to produce plutonium necessary for the creation of modern, compact nuclear charges. The intensity of work on the creation of the "Islamic bomb" is characterized by the fact that by the end of the 90s Pakistan had up to 10 nuclear warheads based on uranium and from 2 to 5 charges based on weapons-grade plutonium. The result of 30 years of intensive work on the creation of nuclear weapons were the tests conducted on May 28 and 30, 1998 at the Chagai test site in the Baluchistan province. It was a retaliatory step to the nuclear tests carried out by India in early May 1998. In just two days, 6 underground nuclear explosions were carried out:
May 28 - uranium charge with a capacity of 25-30 kT; plutonium charge with a capacity of 12 kT; three uranium charges with a capacity of less than 1 kT.
May 30 - 12 kT plutonium charge; it was decided not to test another similar device (or it did not explode).
Thus, Pakistan has shown not only to India, but to the whole world that it has not only the technology for obtaining nuclear weapons, but also actually possesses it, and is ready to use it in the event of a real threat national security.
Ways and means of obtaining nuclear weapons production technologies by Pakistan
Country Technologies, equipment
Canada nuclear power plant, plant for the production of "heavy water".
France NPP, plutonium reprocessing technology.
PRC NPP, uranium enrichment plant, heavy water production plant, project of 25 kT nuclear device, 5000 magnetic rings for gas centrifuges.
Switzerland Uranium enrichment plant project, 13-inch steel spheres and steel petals for the production of a nuclear device.
Germany Vacuum pumps and equipment for gas centrifuges (Leybold Heraeus Hanan), technology for purifying plutonium with tritium gas, tritium gas.
UK 30 high frequency inverter for centrifuge speed control.
USA Research reactor, diagnostic and scientific equipment, oscilloscopes and computers.
Along with the active work of scientists, engineers and representatives of the Pakistani Interdepartmental Intelligence Service in obtaining technologies and equipment, by the mid-1980s a strict and well-functioning system for planning and coordinating the activities of units engaged in the development of nuclear weapons for the Pakistani Armed Forces had developed.
State bodies for planning, management and control of work on nuclear work.
The National Security Council is the supreme body for managing and coordinating the development of the entire nuclear program of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and for the strategic planning of the industry. The decisions of this Council, although they are recommendatory in nature, go directly to the President. The Pakistani nuclear program is historically structured in such a way that different scientific departments are engaged in only one specific area, excluding duplication and rechecking. This is probably due to the austerity of financial resources for the development of nuclear devices. For example, divisions of the Ministry of Defense (Defense Research Committee and Production Directorate) are engaged in the development and creation of aviation and artillery delivery vehicles, as well as issues of protection against damaging factors nuclear weapons. Khan Research Laboratories and the Nuclear Energy Commission are developing and building a nuclear device.
Khan Research Laboratories.
One of the first Pakistani research institutions, which directly from July 1976 began to work on the creation of nuclear weapons. It was led by Dr. Abdul Kadir Khan, who previously worked for URENCO Corporation, the Netherlands, and used the technologies and drawings of gas centrifuges of this corporation. The work on the creation of the "Islamic bomb" was under the direct control of Prime Minister Bhutto. Since May 1981 - Khan's Research Laboratory.
Feature: the uranium route is taken as a basis, as it is simpler and more economical; liquid-propellant multistage Gauri missiles (prototype North Korean missiles) are considered as delivery vehicles.
Pakistan Nuclear Energy Commission (PAEC).
Founded in 1972, the Commission was intended to solve the problem of a serious shortage of electricity in the country, as well as to use nuclear technologies in other areas: medicine, agriculture, mechanical engineering, etc. From the very beginning, Dr. Usmani stood at the head of the Commission, thanks to whom the first experimental reactors appeared in Pakistan at Rawalpindi, a nuclear power plant in Karachi. In 1974, Dr. Munir Ahmad Khan became the head of the Pakistan Nuclear Energy Commission, who brought this unit to a key place in the nuclear weapons development program, subordinating most of the institutes and research centers to himself. training centers, the mining industry and, directly, huge production capacities. Feature: the plutonium route is taken as a basis, which allows uranium fuel to be processed from nuclear power plants into weapons-grade plutonium, from which lighter and more compact warheads can be made. Solid-propellant multistage missiles "Hatf" (prototype Chinese missiles "Dongfeng-11, 15") are considered as delivery vehicles
Nuclear reactors:
- n.p. Islamabad - Light Water Research Reactor, 9 MW; n.p. Karachi - heavy water reactor, 137 MW; n.p. Rawalpindi - two light water research reactors, 9 and 30 MW; n.p. Chasma - two light water reactors, 310 MW each; n.p. Khushab - heavy water reactor, 50 MW.
Uranium enrichment plants
n.p. Kakhuta; n.p. Sihala; n.p. Golra
PINTECH Plutonium Processing Pilot Plant
n.p. Rawalpindi
Heavy Water Plants
n.p. Karachi, N. Multan, n.p. Khushab, n. Chasma
Pakistani ammunition factories
n.p. Wah
Nuclear test site
n.p. Chagai (Baluchistan)
An example of a really operating nuclear industrial production in Pakistan is the complex in the area of \u200b\u200bthe settlement. Khushab (Sindh province), built in cooperation with Chinese specialists. It includes a nuclear power plant with a heavy water reactor and a D2O (“heavy water”) plant.
The features of the reactor in N of the item Khushab are as follows:
Lack of IAEA control; Lack of a generator unit; Lack of electrical substation; The presence of a large number of additional hangar buildings on the territory; Well guarded area; The size and number of cooling towers indicates the dissipation capacity.
Thus, we can conclude that the reactor in N. Khushab is used only for the production of weapons-grade plutonium. A special feature of the D2O production plant in the area of \u200b\u200bn. Khushab is that it has an estimated capacity of 50-100 tons of "heavy water" per year, which is almost twice the required needs of the nearest reactor. Thus, at present, the presence of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan nuclear weapons is a deterrent against possible aggression from India, as well as a weighty argument when discussing disputed territorial issues. It is highly probable that Pakistan will not freeze its nuclear programdespite international political and economic pressure. The unstable political environment is of concern to the United States. there is a possibility that nuclear weapons or some of their elements will fall into the hands of radical fundamentalists. In addition, the uncontrolled spread of nuclear weapons technologies in the Middle East region poses a particular danger. Therefore, the issue of control over Pakistan's nuclear program will remain the focus of attention of the United States.
Note: highlighted countries - the main creditors of the nuclear program, as well as technologies obtained by illegal means (theft, smuggling, intelligence activities, etc.).
Now Pakistan is undoubtedly one of the most promising and actively developing countries around the world. In many ways, this country has reached such heights thanks to Pakistani nuclear weapons. There are only nine nuclear powers in the world. It takes a lot of time and effort to become one of them. Ultimately, however, Pakistan became the fifth most powerful nuclear power.
Mystery
At the moment, it is impossible to estimate with one hundred percent accuracy how many nuclear weapons the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has. In fact, this is practically impossible, since information on this matter is in the overwhelming majority of cases classified. But one way or another, recently, investigations began, and people began to find out exactly where this story began. But once upon a time the question of whether Pakistan has nuclear weapons caused only bewilderment.
How it all began
The man who initiated the development of nuclear technology in Pakistan was called Abdul Kadir Khan. He was not only a physicist, but also a brilliant engineer. Abdul Kadir Khan was well versed in metallurgy. He was appreciated by employers, he was promised a great future. Having defended his doctoral thesis, Abdul Kadir Khan began to work in the international organization URENCO. It employs representatives from countries such as the Federal Republic of Germany, the United States of America, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. This company was engaged in the fact that in order to subsequently use it in nuclear power plants. This is how Pakistan got nuclear weapons.
Structure
On the eve of 1974, Abdul Qadir Khan, together with scientists from other countries, worked tirelessly on the classified URENCO project. Work was carried out on uranium. They sought to divide natural uranium into enriched and depleted. To do this, it was necessary to increase the amount of a rather rare atom U235. Ninety-nine and two-tenths of a percent of natural uranium was U238. There was so little U235 that even one percent would not have been found. According to the most accurate estimates, natural uranium contains 0.72%. But if this small amount is increased, then you get a real nuclear weapon, because U235 can independently carry out a nuclear chain reaction.
That is, speaking in human terms, they created nuclear weapons of mass destruction.
By the end of 1974, Abdul Qadir Khan had managed to gain the trust and respect of his superiors and partners. He had access to almost all information about the classified URENCO project, which was quite expected, because the position of Abdul Kadir Khan occupied a corresponding position.
About a year later, in 1975, physicist and engineer Qadir Khan came back to Pakistan, but not alone. He brought with him classified documents related to the creation of a nuclear bomb. This is, first of all, where Pakistan got its nuclear weapons from.
Development of nuclear weapons
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a politician born in British India and then the current Prime Minister of Pakistan, ordered work to begin on a nuclear bomb according to URENCO research. He established the Ministry of Science and Technology and increased the powers of the Atomic Energy Commission.
Abdul Qadir Khan was expected to receive all kinds of honors. Almost instantly, a laboratory with all the necessary conditions was organized for him. This laboratory, by the way, was named after Abdul Khan.
At the same time, in another laboratory, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission was working to create another atomic bomb, only based on plutonium. After several years of independent work, the laboratories merged.
As for Abdul Kadir Khan, in 2004 he stated on an international channel that he had indeed stolen nuclear weapons developments from the URENCO organization, where at that time he held an important position. After that, the Pakistani authorities completely limited his ties with the rest of the world and put him under house arrest. He has not yet been released. Abdul Qadir Khan never managed to tell his story in full, and the general public can only guess.
Plan
Pakistan's nuclear program is quite ambitious, so to speak. They worked annually on their project. Between 1976 and 1978, Pakistanis, with the help of the French, tried to reprocess nuclear fuel, but the joint activities eventually ended. However, just one decade later, in 1988, a uranium plant was built in the city of Kahuta.
Thirteen years later, for the first time in Pakistan, it became possible to mine
May 28, 1998 was marked by the fact that in the province of Pakistan Baluchistan in the city of Chagai there were from two to six nuclear weapons tests. Two days later, another test was carried out at the same test site. This is how Pakistan got nuclear weapons.
Potential
Pakistan is quite often described as the state with the largest stock of nuclear weapons. And they are constantly creating new types of it! This country should not be underestimated just because from an economic point of view, it is inferior to the United States and a number of European countries. The state has enough weapons to defend itself against aggression from any of these countries, which is what Pakistan's famous nuclear doctrine says.
Empowerment Policy
You should start from the very basics. The fact is that this peculiar set of rules is based, among other things, on the theory of games that has just recently gone out of fashion. Quite strange, isn't it? In fact, there is nothing strange about this. After all, Game Theory does not describe hide and seek or tagging. She explains how the confrontation between the two sides takes place. In the case of doctrine, these two sides are, firstly, Pakistan itself, and secondly, a foreign aggressor who has somehow harmed this country. India is generally understood as a "foreign aggressor", but the rules remain the same for other countries. So when is Pakistan ready to use weapons of mass destruction?
Types of aggression
Number one is one of the most common forms of aggression: troops crossing a foreign border. The doctrine clearly states that if the army of India or any other aggressor country dares to cross the borders of their country, the government will use nuclear weapons against the invaders. However, there is a caveat. Pakistan will only use weapons of mass destruction if government forces fail to stop the invasion. There is an opinion that they can reach the Indus Valley through Pakistani territory without provoking a nuclear strike.
From the second potential situation referred to in the Pakistan Doctrine, one can take the fact that this state will never allow its enemies to flourish. Also, this item can be considered one of the most powerful methods of defense, because even in case of victory, the enemy country will suffer a crushing defeat. The bottom line is that if the Pakistani army is on the brink of destruction, and it becomes clear that defeat is inevitable, Pakistan will use nuclear weapons against the enemy country.
Also, if the aggressor is the first to use chemical or biological weapons, the country, of course, will respond in kind.
Economics is more closely tied to politics than it might seem. Proof of this is the Pakistan Doctrine, which states that in the event of a deliberate economic strike on the country, they are ready to use nuclear weapons.
Propaganda in certain districts of the state, the spread of separatist sentiments in society can also serve as an impetus for the use of nuclear weapons. But only on the condition that the well-being and independence of the country will be threatened.
But in practice
In fact, this is not all. Only the official part. As you know, in 1998, the representative of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the United Nations, Shamshad Ahmad, said that his country was ready to use nuclear weapons not only for self-defense purposes, but would also undoubtedly act as an aggressor if India's actions in the international arena seemed suspicious to them. or threatening.
Plan
First of all, Pakistan pledges to warn the country, which has shown itself as an aggressor, that they intend to respond to the threat with a nuclear attack. By the way, this statement can not be made at the state level. Nothing of the kind is required. If this warning does not have the desired effect, then Pakistan goes to the next level and detonates a bomb on its own soil. If this does not force the country, which threatens the sovereignty of the state, to stop, then a nuclear attack is carried out not with the aim of intimidation, but in order to defeat the enemy army.
The next and one of the last steps is that Pakistan is inflicting a nuclear strike on the territory of the enemy country. It is assumed that only objects necessary for waging war, namely factories producing tanks, ammunition, any weapons, laboratories, and so on, will become victims. All these structures should be located away from densely populated areas, but in fact this is only in theory. In fact, senseless sacrifices cannot be avoided. And the account will no longer go to hundreds and thousands, but to millions, since other states, of course, will not just watch nuclear war from afar.
Nuclear weapons India-Pakistan
But one should underestimate the fact that the Pakistani government initiated the development of nuclear weapons in response to the emergence of nuclear weapons in India. Even now, the doctrine mainly views India as the enemy. And paradoxically, but this country to create a nuclear bomb was pushed by Pakistan's aggression. The reasons also include strained relations with the People's Democratic Republic of China. And here is the answer to the question of where India and Pakistan got their nuclear weapons from.
Equality around the world
In 1965, Pakistani Foreign Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto argued that since the followers of the Christian, Jewish and Hindu faiths had access to nuclear weapons, then Muslims deserve the same privilege.
The American government also strongly protested against Pakistan's nuclear weapons taking place, and even initiated an international embargo against that country. But this did not prevent Pakistan from becoming a nuclear power and threatening the whole world if someone tries to attack the country or hinder its development.
The presence of nuclear forces in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a fundamental moment in the development of world history. This is a completely natural and natural step for a country that, given a rather low standard of living of the population, brings to the fore the priorities of protecting its national sovereignty. The reasons for this programmed phenomenon lie in the very history of the emergence of Pakistan, its current situation on the political map of the world.
The fact is that the presence in British India, which organically included the modern territories of Pakistan, India and Ceylon, of the largest religious communities - Hindu and Muslim - should sooner or later lead to such a political state, when each of them would demand full independence both in public administration, and even more so in representation in the international arena.
After the uprising of 1857 against the British, who defeated the rebels, Sayyid Ahmad Shah, who preached Western values \u200b\u200band advocated close political and economic ties with England, became the most authoritative leader of the Muslim population of the then unified country. pakistan nuclear islamic
The importance of British India to England was so great both strategically and all the more economically that the Viceroy of India Lord Curzon said: "If we lose India, the sun of the British Empire will set." And in order to prevent all the consequences of such a division in the future, even then a policy of confrontation between religious communities began to be laid - their internecine war would always divert attention from the foreign policy interests of industrialized countries.
That is why, already in 1883, Ahmad Shah managed to enforce the rule of separate voting for Muslims and Hindus, and in 1885 a university was founded, where only Muslims were accepted. Moreover, it was at his instigation in 1887 that Muslims began to withdraw from the Indian National Congress, which was formed in 1885.
After the death of Ahamd Shah in Dhaka in 1906, the All India Muslim League was formed, which proclaimed as its goal the creation of an exclusively independent Islamic state in India called Pakistan, which translates as "the land of the pure."
However, Mahatma Gandhi appeared on the political scene of British India, who, thanks to his religious tolerance, managed to become the recognized leader of virtually all political forces in the country.
But at the same time, such personalities as Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal, who wrote incendiary sermons to fellow believers, managed to almost completely persuade Muslims to create the state of Pakistan. At the end of December 1930, at the congress of the Muslim League, M. Iqbal spoke in favor of a categorical separation from British India into a completely independent Islamic state. And in March 1940, the Muslim League, led by Jinnah, proclaimed its main goal - the creation of Pakistan. Interesting fact: the name Pakistan was suggested by Chaudhury Rahmat Ali, who lived in England and studied at Cambridge.
As we can see, educated and competent people stood at the origins of the creation of the new state, who were able to lead millions of backward and uneducated people. There is a lot to learn from British diplomacy, its politicians and educational system.
In order to constitutionally legitimize the independence of Muslims in the territorial regions of India, a declaration was adopted in 1940 in Lahore, which spoke of “areas in which Muslims constitute a numerical majority. They should be united to constitute independent states, in which territorial units should have autonomy and sovereignty. "
And immediately began religious pogroms, which led to the resettlement of millions of refugees. The death toll, according to some sources, exceeded 300 thousand people. And in October 1947, hostilities began between two new state formations over the territory of Kashmir, three quarters of which are Muslims, but the power belongs to the leaders of the Hindu community.
Until January 1, 1949, there were bloody battles, territorial and even more so religious problems were never resolved. Moreover, even today it does not seem appropriate to talk about a peaceful solution of all disputes between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the United States of India. Now it is difficult even to imagine all the consequences that may arise between the two countries in the future.
The armed confrontation between the two countries will have a rather long continuation, reminiscent of the situation when there is no peace treaty between Israel and Palestine, Azerbaijan and Armenia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, on the one hand, and Georgia, on the other.
That is why "nuclear potential has become the main deterrent and helped establish peace in the region," said Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. He further argues that "in 2002, when India deployed a million-strong army at our borders ... only the fact that Pakistan had nuclear weapons forced the Indians to abandon their invasion plans."
Looking ahead, we note that the quite predictable conflict between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the United States of India may lead to the use of nuclear weapons by the parties.
The war for Kashmir in the future is real, as is the real and sabotage activities on both sides, which took place, is and will take place without time limits. The confrontation is so great that the solution of all controversial issues by peaceful means is very problematic, and that is why such a tough factor as nuclear weapons appears on the scene.
As many experts note, it is almost impossible to estimate the number and types of nuclear weapons in Pakistan's arsenal. Everything is surrounded by secrecy and suspicion.
General history of creation atomic weapons Pakistan is a very fascinating description in its action. According to some experts, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, after the defeat by India in the war for the eastern provinces on January 24, 1972, gathered leading nuclear physicists. According to American journalist Tim Weiner, Pakistan was able to create a smuggling network that allowed it to steal and buy nuclear technology.
In reality, however, the situation was somewhat different. First of all, the participation of mainland China should be noted. It was so great that the participation of Saudi Arabia and Libya in this program was exclusively financial, especially in 1973 and 1974. True, some American journalists believe that the United States is also involved in the development of nuclear weapons by Pakistan. At least this weapon was created with their tacit consent.
Skipping numerous details of the history of the formation of Pakistan's nuclear program, we note that countries such as Holland, Belgium, Germany, France and Switzerland played a role in the supply of equipment for enriching nuclear ore and creating individual components.
After Bhutto was overthrown and then executed as a result of a coup d'état, the creation of nuclear weapons was now exclusively under the control of the military intelligence ISI. The first nuclear bomb Pakistan tested in 1998, just two weeks after India conducted similar tests.
Thus, when the Islamic Republic of Pakistan declared itself as a country with nuclear forces, the world community was faced with a fact. This was only possible for the United States, the USSR, mainland China and the United States of India, for which the atomic component in armament is a completely independent structural unit.
It is now known that it was Abdul Qadeer Khan who, in his research laboratory in Kahuta in northern Pakistan, managed to create an atomic bomb for his country. More than 1000 centrifuges for uranium enrichment operated at this center. Pakistan has produced enough fissile material for 30-52 nuclear warheads.
About two months ago, an investigation was launched in Pakistan against Abdul-Qadir Khan, the country's chief nuclear scientist. During the investigation, Khan admitted that he transferred nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya. The CIA and IAEA have established that he has created an entire network of nuclear secrets trading.
In early February 2006, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf granted Khan's request for clemency. At the same time, Musharraf said that he would not allow an independent investigation of Khan's activities and would not open the country's nuclear facilities for international inspectors.
Nuclear explosive devices are believed to be based on a so-called implosion design, which allows the use of a solid core of highly enriched uranium, spending approximately 15-20 kilograms per warhead.
Let us recall that the solution of the problem of converging spherical shock and detonation waves served as the theoretical basis for the principle of "implosion". It is implosion that makes it possible not only to form a critical mass much faster, but also to get by with a smaller mass of nuclear explosives.
Experts explain the participation of mainland China in the creation of nuclear weapons from Pakistan by the following fact. The seismic dimensions of the tests conducted on May 28 and 30, 1998 by Islamabad suggest that the results were at 9-12 and 4-6 kilotons, respectively. Since similar projects were used during the Chinese tests in the 1960s, it is concluded that Beijing's assistance to Pakistan in the 1970s and 1980s.
However, the main principle of the presence of Chinese nuclear specialists in nuclear centers in Pakistan is that the armed clashes between mainland China and the United States of India took on such a local character, the expansion of which could be very expensive for both countries.
Since the conduct of military operations by Beijing simultaneously against island China and Delhi is a more than dangerous option (in this case, the US Navy will be involved), it is quite natural for China's strategic plan, according to which the creation and use of Pakistan's nuclear forces to divert the armed forces India from the border with mainland China and their redeployment westward to the borders of Pakistan. Moreover, it is precisely Islamabad's possession of effective nuclear forces that will serve as the basis for strategic security for mainland China.
Analyzing the qualitative component of Pakistan's atomic weapons, experts note that there is no exact data on what grade of uranium is used and in what quantity. For two decades, Pakistan has used the centrifuge gas method to enrich uranium to produce fissile material for its own nuclear weapons. Independent experts in the field of atomic weapons estimate that Islamabad has between 24 and 48 nuclear warheads.
Islamabad, comparing itself with the countries - possessing nuclear weapons, believes that it lags far behind them in the field of modernization. Therefore, he is dissatisfied with his first generation weapons and continues to develop other projects in the field of uranium enrichment. It is believed that the Khushab reactor in Joharabad, in the Punjab region, could produce weapons-grade plutonium.
The presence of lithium-6 allows the "Pakistani" scientists to obtain tritium. The fact is that next to the Pakistani Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (Pinstech) in Rawalpindi, there is a processing plant where tritium can be obtained. Recall: tritium is used in the thermonuclear reaction of boosting (strengthening) the primary assembly of a nuclear warhead. A thermonuclear charge is a multistage explosive device, the explosion power of which is achieved due to sequential processes: the explosion of a plutonium charge, and then due to the created reaction temperature - the synthesis of tritium nuclei with the release of even more energy, which can "ignite" the charge of the third stage of an even greater power, etc. The power of an explosive device constructed in this way can be as large as desired.
The traditional method for producing tritium is its production in reactors by irradiating targets from the isotope of lithium-6 with neutrons. During storage of the warhead, the loss of tritium as a result of natural decay is approximately 5.5% per year. Decaying, tritium turns into helium. Therefore, tritium is periodically purified from helium.
All these efforts allow Pakistan not only to increase the capacity of its nuclear forces, but also to start developing thermonuclear weapons. The acceleration of this process can be attributed to the fact that the Pakistani nuclear committee has decided on an adequate response from India to its decision to create a deployed nuclear triad: air-land-sea.
It was precisely the increase in nuclear power that allowed Islamabad to start its nuclear export. So, in particular, Pakistan is ready to provide military assistance to Nigeria and turn this country into a nuclear power. The proposal was made by General Muhammad Aziz Khan, head of the Pakistani Joint Staff Committee, at a meeting with the Nigerian Defense Minister in 2004, the Nigerian Defense Ministry said. Khan said that the Pakistani military is developing an entire cooperation program that includes assistance to Nigeria in the nuclear field. What kind of weapons, materials or technologies can be transferred under this program is not specified.
At the end of January this year, a representative of the Nigerian government announced the preparation of a preliminary agreement with North Korea, under which Nigeria will receive North Korean missile technology. Subsequently, this message was denied in Pyongyang, and a spokesman for the President of Nigeria said that no agreements have yet been signed. He added that Nigeria is not trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction, but plans to use the missiles exclusively for "peacekeeping" purposes and to protect its own territory.
Summing up, we note that Pakistan's scientific research in the field of nuclear weapons has already advanced to such a point when it is able to develop thermonuclear weapons. As for the Pakistani nuclear forces, they have real effectiveness and in the event of an armed conflict with India, in the event of a more than unfavorable situation in the country's defense capability, they will be used in full.
The formation of Pakistan's nuclear program took place in the context of a prolonged military confrontation with India and difficult political relations with the United States. The beginning of the Pakistani nuclear program dates back to 1965. In the same year, by decision of the President of Pakistan, the Atomic Energy Commission was established. Pakistan's nuclear program from the very beginning had a military orientation and was not aimed at the tasks of peaceful nuclear energy. Its implementation has been accelerated since 1972, shortly after defeat in the war with India and especially after India carried out its first nuclear explosion in 1974. Pakistan has declared at the state level that it should have its own nuclear weapons. Apart from the "Indian factor", an important incentive to possess nuclear weapons was Pakistan's desire to strengthen its position in the Muslim world, becoming the first owner of nuclear weapons in it. Pressure (until 1979) by the United States to slow down the Pakistani nuclear program and tightening export controls by Western countries prompted Pakistan to conclude a Sino-Pakistani agreement on cooperation in the field of nuclear technology. During the period of the military presence of the USSR in Afghanistan, the United States of America, seeking to attract Pakistan to its side, resorted to billions of dollars in economic and military assistance to it. In 1989, Pakistan announced the possession of nuclear weapons. Thus, it can be argued with a high degree of confidence that it was precisely the inconsistent US policy that contributed significantly to the implementation of the Pakistani nuclear program.
Pakistan has not acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Comprehensive Ban Treaty nuclear tests.
On May 28, 1998 (two weeks after the nuclear tests by India), Pakistan announced the successful implementation of five underground nuclear explosions at the Chagai test site in Baluchistan (their total energy release is 40-45kt), and on May 30, 1998, another explosion took place with an energy release of 15-18 kt.
Nuclear weapons of Pakistan.There are very rough estimates of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. Presumably, the country has nuclear weapons in the amount of up to 30-50 units, although estimates of stocks of fissile materials make it possible to assume that there are even more. Possible carriers of nuclear weapons in Pakistan can be tactical aircraft and ballistic missiles. Presumably, in peacetime, nuclear warheads are not installed on carriers, but are kept in low technical readiness separately from them.
Aircraft carriers. The Pakistani Air Force is armed with aircraft that can carry nuclear bombs: American F-16 and French-made Mirage-5. The most likely carrier is the F-16 fighter (tactical
115 radius - up to 1100 km). In the ranks there are no more than 32 F-16 aircraft (out of 40 delivered
USA in 1983-1987). In 1988-1989. 71 more units were ordered, of which 28 were manufactured, but were not delivered due to the US imposition of an arms embargo on Pakistan in 1990. In March 2005, the United States lifted the ban on arms supplies and it can be expected that in the near future the fleet of nuclear weapons carriers will be replenished with several dozen F16s.
Ballistic missiles . The Pakistani ballistic missile program has been underway since the early 1980s. and has two areas of work: liquid and solid-propellant missiles. In most cases, their design is based on foreign developments - the PRC and the DPRK. Ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear warheads:
short-range - "Hatf-3" (another name - " Ghaznavi"), As well as" Hatf-4 "(" Shahin-1»);
medium-range - "Hatf-5" (" Gauri-1")," Hatf-5A "(" Gauri-2")," Hatf-6 "(" Shahin-2"). The main characteristics of the missiles are given in table. 4.16.
BR "Gaznavi"
BR "Gauri"
BR "Shahin"
BR "Shahin"
BR "Gauri"
Table 4.16 Characteristics of Pakistani ballistic missiles