Nuclear powers list. Rating of countries with nuclear weapons, for those who want to know the most protected areas of the world. Suspicions of possession of nuclear weapons
05/13/2015 at 18:08 · Johnny · 105 490
Top 10 nuclear powers in the world
Today, nuclear weapons are thousands of times more powerful than the two infamous atomic bombs that destroyed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Since that bombing, the nuclear arms race various countries passed into a different phase, and under the pretext of nuclear deterrence never stopped again.
10. Iran
- Status: Charged with unofficial possession.
- First test: never.
- Final test: never.
- Arsenal size: 2,400 kilograms of low-enriched uranium.
Top U.S. military officials unanimously say Iran can produce at least one unit nuclear weapons annually, and it takes him a maximum of five years to develop a modern, workable atomic bomb.
At present, the West regularly accuses Tehran of developing nuclear weapons, which is just as regularly denied by the leadership of Iran. According to the official position of the latter, the state's nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes and is being developed for the energy needs of enterprises and medical reactors.
After international verification in the sixties, Iran had to abandon its nuclear program (1979). However, according to secret Pentagon documents, it was resumed in the mid-nineties. For this reason, UN sanctions were imposed on the Asian state, the introduction of which should stop the development of Iran's nuclear program, which threatens peace in the region, nevertheless, Iran is a nuclear power.
9. Israel
- Status: not official.
- First test: possibly 1979.
- Last test: possibly 1979.
- Arsenal size: up to 400 units.
- Test Ban Treaty (CTBT): signed.
Israel is considered a country that not only possesses full-fledged nuclear weapons, but is also capable of delivering them to various points through intercontinental ballistic missiles, aviation or navy. The state began its nuclear research shortly after its founding. The first reactor was built in 1950, and the first nuclear weapon in the sixties.
At present, Israel does not seek to maintain the reputation of a nuclear power, but many European countries, including France and the UK are actively assisting Israel in this industry. You should be aware that information has leaked out that the Israelis have built mini-nuclear bombs that are small enough to fit in a suitcase. In addition, they were reported to possess an unknown amount of neutron bombs.
8.
- Status: official.
- First test: 2006.
- Last test: 2009.
- Armory size: less than 10 units.
In addition to possessing a significant arsenal of advanced chemical weapons, North Korea is a full-fledged nuclear power. Currently, the state of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has a couple of operating nuclear reactors.
To date, active North Korea two successful nuclear tests, which were confirmed by international experts based on the results of a survey and monitoring of seismic activity in the test areas.
7.
- Status: official.
- First test: May 28, 1998.
- Last test: May 30, 1998.
- Armory size: 70 to 90 units.
- Test Ban Treaty (CTBT): not signed.
Pakistan has resumed its previously aborted nuclear program in response to India's "Buddha Smile" tests. The official statement of the authorities contains the following words: “If India creates an atomic bomb, we will eat grass and leaves for a thousand years, or even starve, but we will get a similar weapon. Christians, Jews, and now Hindus have the bomb. Why don't Muslims allow themselves to do this? “. This phrase belongs to Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto after testing in India.
Recall that Pakistan's nuclear program was born in 1956, but was frozen by order of President Ayub Khan. Nuclear engineers tried to prove that the nuclear program is vital, but the country's president said that if a real threat arises, Pakistan will be able to acquire ready-made nuclear weapons.
The Pakistan Air Force has two units operating the Nanchang A-5C (No. 16 and No. 26 Squadrons), which are excellent for delivering nuclear warheads. Pakistan ranks seventh in our ranking of the world's nuclear powers.
6. India
- Status: official.
- First test: 1974.
- Last test: 1998.
- Armory size: less than 40 to 95 units.
- Test Ban Treaty (CTBT): not signed.
India possesses an impressive number of nuclear weapons, and is also able to deliver them to their destination with the help of aircraft and surface ships. In addition, its nuclear missile submarines are in the final stages of development.
The first nuclear test conducted by India had the original name "Smiling Buddha", as if this nuclear explosion had an exclusively peaceful purpose. The reaction of the world community to such actions followed after the 1998 tests. Economic sanctions against India were imposed by the United States, Japan and their Western allies.
5.
- Status: official.
- First test: 1964.
- Last test: 1996.
- Armory size: about 240 units.
- Test Ban Treaty (CTBT): signed.
Almost immediately after testing the first atomic bomb, China tested its own hydrogen bomb. These events took place in 1964 and 1967, respectively. Currently, the People's Republic of China has 180 active nuclear warheads and is considered one of the most powerful world powers.
China is the only state with a nuclear arsenal that has given security guarantees to all countries that do not possess such technologies. The official part of the document reads: “China undertakes not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states or nuclear-weapon-free zones, regardless of time and under no circumstances.”
4.
- Status: official.
- First test: 1960.
- Last test: 1995.
- Arsenal size: at least 300 units.
France is a member of the “NPT” and is known to possess weapons mass destruction. Developments in this direction in the Fifth Republic began after the end of the Second World War, but it was not possible to create an atomic bomb until 1958. Tests in 1960 made it possible to verify the operability of the weapon.
To date, France has carried out more than two hundred nuclear tests, and its potential puts the country in fourth place in world ranking of nuclear powers.
3.
- Status: official.
- First test: 1952.
- Last test: 1991.
- Armory size: more than 225 units.
- Test Ban Treaty (CTBT): ratified.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty back in 1968. The United States and the United Kingdom are working closely and mutually to the benefit of nuclear safety, starting from the signing of the 1958 mutual defense treaty.
In addition, these two countries (the United States and Great Britain) also actively exchange various secret information received by the special services of the states.
2. Russian Federation
- Status: official.
- First test: 1949.
- Last test: 1990.
- Armory size: 2,825 units.
- Test Ban Treaty (CTBT): ratified.
The Soviet Union was the second country to detonate a nuclear bomb (1949). From that moment until 1990, Russia carried out at least 715 nuclear tests involving the testing of 970 different devices. Russia is one of the strongest nuclear powers in the world. The first nuclear explosion, with a yield of 22 kilotons, received its own name "Joe-1".
The Tsar Bomb is by far the heaviest nuclear weapon of all time. It passed the test in 1967, detonating a whopping 57,000 kilotons. This charge was originally designed at 100,000 kilotons, but was reduced to 57,000 kilotons due to the high potential for excessive fallout.
1. United States of America
- Status: official.
- First test: 1945.
- Last test: 1992.
- Armory size: 5,113 units.
- Test Ban Treaty (CTBT): signed.
V total, the United States has conducted more than 1,050 nuclear tests and ranks at the top of our top ten nuclear world powers. At the same time, the state possesses missiles with a nuclear warhead delivery range of up to 13,000 kilometers. The first test of the atomic bomb "Trinity" was carried out in 1945. It was the first explosion of its kind in world history, which demonstrated a new type of threat to humanity.
One of the greatest luminaries of the scientific world, Albert Einstein, approached President Franklin Roosevelt with a proposal to build an atomic bomb. So the creator unwittingly became the destroyer.
Today, on the nuclear program North America more than twenty secret facilities operate. It is curious that during the tests in the United States, many incidents with nuclear weapons were noted, which, fortunately, did not lead to irreparable consequences. Examples are near Atlantic City, New Jersey (1957), at Thule Air Force Base, Greenland (1968), in Savannah, Georgia (1958), at sea near Palomares, Spain (1966), off the coast of Okinawa, Japan (1965), etc.
The confrontation between the two most powerful nuclear powers in the world, Russia and the United States: video
The 20th century entered the history of mankind not only with its round number. Many peoples had different systems of chronology, and the numbering of centuries in them differs dramatically. The main thing is that after the 20th century according to the Gregorian calendar, every next century, and even a year, can be the last for human civilization.
Nuclear weapons are the main invention not only of the 20th century, but of all human history. For the first time in the hands of people was a tool with which you can radically change the environment.
There is a very interesting story about the confusion of scientists and the military, who on October 30, 1960 watched the test explosion of a hydrogen bomb at a test site on the islands New Earth. After the bomb, whose power was reduced from 100 to 50 megatons, successfully exploded, observers hastened to report this to Moscow. Hugs began, opened champagne ...
In the festive turmoil, someone noticed that the reaction was still ongoing at the epicenter of the explosion, although, in theory, the components of the bomb should have already burned out - the estimated time was over. The chain reaction could include atoms of ordinary substances. Theoretically, the reaction could become self-sustaining - continue until the last atom on Earth enters into it. Scientists and the military breathed a sigh of relief only at the moment when they received a message about the attenuation of the reaction.
This, of course, is a tale, most likely composed by one of the writers after a conversation with a test participant. But the tale is a lie, but, as we know, there is a hint in it. With the help of atomic weapons, if not the entire Earth, then a very solid part of it can be destroyed. The project of one of the creators of the hydrogen bomb Andrei Sakharov is known. The academician suggested detonating a high-power hydrogen bomb in Atlantic Ocean and send an artificial tsunami wave to the US coast. According to rough calculations, the wave could reach the middle of the continent with consequences that are now clear to everyone from disaster films. The dumbfounded military quickly sent the newly-minted strategist home, informing him that they prefer to fight with an armed enemy, and not with civilians.
In those years, it might well have seemed that on July 16, 1945, a nuclear explosion at the American Alamogordo test site opened Pandora's box. By the 1960s, no one could predict where the arms race would lead. In the days of the Caribbean crisis, when if not minutes, then hours remained before the use of atomic weapons, panic erupted in the United States - no one doubted that Russian barbarians could bomb peaceful Americans. Twenty years earlier, the doubts of the Japanese in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as you know, did not interest anyone.
Deterrent weapons
And yet, it is difficult for humanity, with a creak, but it managed to turn off the suicidal road. This was facilitated by the collapse of the USSR, which became a serious geopolitical victory for the United States and its allies. And after it turned out that the renewed Russia retained the nuclear potential of the USSR, the rattling of nuclear weapons lost its meaning.
It may seem paradoxical, but today nuclear weapons of mass destruction have become for any country a guarantee against a full-scale enemy attack. This is well illustrated by the relationship between the US and North Korea. For all the militancy of the US rhetoric, there is no risk of starting a conflict, especially after the DPRK has acquired, albeit rather hypothetical, means of delivering nuclear charges to US territory. Thus, the most terrible weapon has become the most effective guarantee of the country's inviolability.
nuclear club
As of the end of 2017, 9 countries possessed nuclear weapons: the USA, Russia, France, Great Britain, China, Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea. Officially, according to international treaties, only the first five countries own nuclear weapons. The disclaimer about Israel's possession of nuclear weapons can be omitted - the lack of material evidence is compensated by the numerous testimonies of witnesses. The United States was the first to develop a nuclear bomb, and North Korea was the last to join the nuclear club. According to experts, Russia has the most nuclear weapons (6,800) and North Korea the least (10-20).
USA
The United States holds a dubious lead in combat use nuclear weapons against civilians. On August 6 and 9, 1945, American atomic bombs exploded over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, claiming tens of thousands of lives, mostly civilians.
The first American test of a nuclear weapon is dated July 16, 1945. The scientific part of the development of a promising type of weapons was led by Robert Oppenheimer, the technical leader was General Leslie Groves.
In total, since 1945, the United States has produced more than 66,000 nuclear weapons. At its peak, in 1967, there were 31,225 charges in the American arsenals. Now their number is estimated at 6,600. The Americans conducted 1,054 test explosions, the maximum yield was 15 megatons.
Russia / USSR
The Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb on August 26, 1949, although this was officially announced six months later. In 1953, the Soviet Union was the first in the world to test a thermonuclear bomb. In 1961, it was first successfully tested H-bomb.
Russia, which became the legal successor of the USSR, inherited not only the nuclear arsenals located on the territory of the RSFSR, but also received all the warheads located on the territory of Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine. According to estimates in 1986, there were about 45,000 nuclear weapons in the USSR - Russia got a very impressive arsenal.
After a series of arms reduction treaties, approximately 6,800 nuclear weapons remain in Russia.
Great Britain
The first British nuclear test took place in 1952. An explosion, the power of which was estimated at 25 kilotons, thundered over the waters of the Pacific Ocean northwest of Australia. Five years later, a British thermonuclear weapon was successfully tested on Christmas Island.
For Great Britain, the issue of possession of nuclear weapons was rather a matter of prestige, because already by the time of the first atomic test, the USSR and the USA had accumulated impressive arsenals. Most of the nuclear charges in service with the British army were in the mid-1970s - 450. Now Foggy Albion has 215 charges.
France
For the French, as for the British, nuclear weapons were a pass to the ranks of the great powers, not an increase armed forces. They detonated the first atomic bomb in the Algerian desert in 1960, and the first thermonuclear explosion was carried out on the Mururoa atoll in the summer of 1968.
In total, the French conducted 210 nuclear weapons tests. At the height of the Cold War, the French had more than 400 warheads, now their number has been reduced to 300.
China
The debut of Chinese nuclear weapons took place in 1964. Less than three years later, the Chinese were in possession of a thermonuclear bomb.
Due to the excellent observance of the secrecy regime in the PRC, there has never been reliable data on the country's nuclear potential. For example, in the early 2000s, Chinese representatives stated that their country's nuclear potential was less than that of Great Britain (at that time, about 200 warheads). At the same time, foreign experts and a number of Russian experts estimated the number of nuclear warheads at the disposal of the PRC at several thousand. Modern estimates give a figure of 270 charges.
India
India joined the nuclear club in 1974. The bomb with the name "Smiling Buddha", detonated on May 18, had a yield of 12 kilotons. Now the Indian army can be armed with 120-130 nuclear charges.
Pakistan
Pakistan announced the presence of nuclear weapons quite loudly - for three days in May 1998, 6 charges were tested at once in the province of Balochistan. The current number of nuclear bombs is estimated at 130-140.
The small but proud Asian country carried out its first nuclear test, up to 20 kilotons, on October 9, 2006. It is believed that the North Koreans may have accumulated 20 charges since then.
Israel
Israel has everything for the production of nuclear weapons. There are witnesses who spoke about such production. However, all available figures are estimates. According to them, Israel may have from 80 to several hundred nuclear charges.
Who didn't make it
Terms are a delicate thing. Under the "nuclear club" it is customary to understand only five states: the USA, Russia (as the legal successor of the USSR), Great Britain, France, and China. And that's it! Both Israel, which traditionally does not deny or confirm the presence of nuclear arsenals, and India and Pakistan, who defiantly carried out nuclear tests and officially announced the presence of nuclear weapons, from the point of view of international law, they cannot receive the legal status of nuclear powers. The fact is that to join the club, you do not need the consent of its current members, but a time machine. All countries that managed to carry out nuclear tests before January 1, 1967 automatically became nuclear powers. The chronology is as follows: the Americans - in 1945, we - four years later, the British and the French - in 1952 and 1960, respectively. China jumped into the "last car" - 1964.
Let us note that such a state of affairs has always evoked and still evokes a feeling of indignation among some of the non-nuclear peoples. Nevertheless, 185 countries of the world have accepted these rules of the game and signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. And this means that the door to the elite nuclear institution has closed forever.
The situation is paradoxical: any country that does not recognize the aforementioned Treaty formally has every right to create its own nuclear warhead. Yes, and the members of the Treaty are also free to withdraw from it at any time - you just need to warn the rest of this 90 days in advance.
Of course, the potential owner of the bomb will have to incur serious material costs, endure all sorts of international sanctions, and possibly even survive a military attack (at one time, the Iraqi nuclear program in literally buried Israeli F-16s, destroying an Iraqi research center).
Nevertheless, especially stubborn countries can still become the owners of the coveted bomb. Approximately 40 states of the world today, figuratively speaking, are on the threshold: that is, they have the capabilities to produce national nuclear weapons. But only four dared to cross this threshold. In addition to the aforementioned Israel, India and Pakistan, North Korea considers itself a nuclear power. True, not a single intelligence service in the world has reliable data that Pyongyang conducted at least one test of an atomic bomb. In this connection, some authoritative experts call the nuclear ambitions of the North Koreans a bluff. There are reasons for this. So, North Korea declared itself at the same time a great space power, declaring that a real satellite was launched. But in orbit, not a single tracking station recorded it. Which is rather strange, especially considering that, according to Pyongyang, their satellite from near-Earth space was broadcasting revolutionary songs with might and main.
Nuclear arsenals
There are less than 30,000 warheads in nuclear arsenals today.
If we still assume that North Korea is not bluffing, then of this amount, its hypothetical contribution is the most modest. A nuclear reactor was built 100 km north of the capital of North Korea with the help of the Chinese. It was jammed twice under pressure from the United States, but still, during its operation, it was estimated that from 9 to 24 kg of weapons-grade plutonium could be accumulated. Experts believe that the manufacture of one bomb, comparable in power to the charge that destroyed Hiroshima, requires from 1 to 3 kg of plutonium-239. Thus, the maximum that the North Korean army can have is 10 charges of relatively low power.
But if there are few bombs in the homeland of Juche, then there are more than enough of their carriers. They are even under development intercontinental missiles capable of reaching the United States.
Experts attribute to Pakistan the presence of about 50 nuclear weapons. Old scud-type ballistic missiles and more advanced ghauris can be used as carriers. In addition, Pakistani engineers independently equipped the F-16s with bomb racks for nuclear bombs.
India has about 50 to 100 nuclear bombs. A wide choice of carriers: nationally developed ballistic and cruise missiles, fighter-bombers.
Israel has a more solid arsenal: approximately 200 charges. It is believed that Israel has nuclear-armed F-16 and F-15 aircraft, as well as Jericho-1 and Jericho-2 missiles with a range of up to 1,800 km. In addition, this country has the most advanced air and missile defense system in the Middle East.
The UK has about 200 warheads. All of them are located on four nuclear submarines armed with Trident-II missiles. Previously, there were nuclear bombs in service with Tornado aircraft, but the British abandoned tactical nuclear weapons.
The French army and navy have 350 nuclear warheads: these are sea-based missile warheads and aerial bombs that can be delivered to the target by Mirage-2000N tactical fighter-bombers and Super Etandar carrier-based attack aircraft.
Chinese generals have at their disposal up to 300 strategic and up to 150 tactical charges.
The United States today has more than 7,000 warheads on strategic launchers: land- and sea-based ballistic missiles and bombers, and up to 4,000 tactical bombs. Total 11-12 thousand nuclear warheads.
Russia, according to Western experts, has approximately 18,000 nuclear warheads, of which 2/3 are tactical. According to data provided to RG by Viktor Mikhailov, director of the Institute for Strategic Stability, in 2000 strategic nuclear forces Russia had 5906 warheads. Another 4,000 nuclear warheads are non-strategic and are tactical aviation bombs, warheads cruise missiles and torpedoes. According to experts from one of the world's most authoritative institutions, the Swedish SIPRI, two years ago our strategic nuclear forces had 4,852 warheads, of which 2,916 were on 680 ICBMs, and 1,072 carried ballistic missiles of submarine missile carriers. Also, 864 warheads were installed on air-to-ground cruise missiles. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that there is a steady trend towards their further reduction. True, the accumulated world stocks of weapons-grade plutonium make it possible to increase arsenals to 85,000 charges within a short period of time.
In general, the total number of nuclear weapons in the world today is known only approximately. But it is known to the bomb that the arms race reached its apogee in 1986. Then there were 69,478 thousand nuclear warheads on the planet.
Alas, it must be admitted that although there are fewer bombs, their carriers have become more perfect: more reliable, more accurate and almost invulnerable.
In addition, scientists are working on a fourth-generation bomb: a purely thermonuclear weapon, in which the fusion reaction must be initiated by some alternative energy source. The fact is that the current hydrogen bombs use the classic nuclear explosion, which gives the main radioactive fallout. If the "nuclear fuse" can be replaced with something, then the generals will receive a bomb that will be as powerful as the current thermonuclear ones, but within 1-2 days after its use, the radiation on the affected area will decrease to an acceptable level. Simply put, the territory is suitable for capture and use. Imagine what a temptation it is for the attacking side...
Abandoned bombs
Statements about the need to have nuclear weapons in service are heard from time to time even in countries whose nuclear-free status seems to be unshakable. In Japan, high-ranking officials regularly speak out in favor of discussing the issue of nuclear weapons, after which they resign with a scandal. From time to time calls are revived for the creation of the first "Arab atomic bomb" in Egypt. There is also a scandal around the secret program of nuclear research and experiments in South Korea, which has always served as an example of restraint against the background of its northern neighbor.
Brazil, which we associate exclusively with Don Pedro and wild monkeys, is determined in 2010 to launch ... its own nuclear submarine. It is appropriate to recall that back in the 80s, the Brazilian military developed two designs of atomic charges with a capacity of 20 and 30 kilotons, however, the bombs were never assembled ...
However, several countries voluntarily gave up nuclear weapons.
In 1992, South Africa announced that it had 8 nuclear weapons and invited IAEA inspectors to observe their elimination.
Kazakhstan and Belarus voluntarily parted ways with WMD. After the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine automatically became a powerful nuclear-missile power. The Ukrainians had at their disposal 130 SS-19 intercontinental ballistic missiles, 46 SS-24 missiles and 44 heavy strategic bombers with cruise missiles. Note that unlike other republics in the post-Soviet space, which also had nuclear arsenals, Ukraine had the ability to build ballistic missiles (for example, all the famous SS-18 "Satan" were produced in Dnepropetrovsk) and had a uranium deposit. And theoretically she could well qualify for membership in the "nuclear club".
Nevertheless, Ukrainian ballistic missiles were destroyed under the control of American observers, and Kiev handed over all 1,272 nuclear charges to Russia. From 1996 to 1999, Ukraine also eliminated 29 Tu-160 and Tu-95 bombers and 487 Kh-55 air-launched cruise missiles.
The Ukrainians kept only one Tu-160 for themselves: for the Air Force Museum. Nuclear bombs, it seems, were not left as a keepsake.
Evgeny Avrorin, scientific director of the Russian Federal Nuclear Center - All-Russian Research Institute of Technical Physics (Snezhinsk city), full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences:
In general, the production of nuclear weapons is a rather complex and subtle technology, which is used both in the production of fissile materials and directly in the creation of nuclear weapons. But when we conducted an analysis at our center about which states could create nuclear weapons, we came to the following conclusion: today absolutely any industrialized state can do it. Only a political decision is required. All information is available, nothing is unknown. The only question is technology and the investment of certain financial resources.
RG | Evgeny Nikolaevich, it is widely believed that in order to enrich uranium, which is necessary for nuclear weapons, it is required to build a special plant with cascades of hundreds of thousands of centrifuges. At the same time, the cost of creating a nuclear fuel production cycle costs more than a billion dollars. Is technology really that expensive?
Evgeny Avrorin | Look at what is being said. nuclear materials much less is needed to create a weapon than to create a developed energy. Enrichment technology, it is, so to speak, fractional. It is no longer a secret that the most promising and advanced technology is the so-called "turntables", which were best developed in the Soviet Union. And these are very small devices, and each of them individually is very inexpensive. Yes, they are very low performing. And in order to obtain materials for the development of large-scale energy, they need a lot of them, which is where billions of dollars come from. At the same time, in order to obtain several kilograms of uranium necessary for the production of nuclear weapons, many such devices are not needed. Expensive, I repeat, is only mass production.
WG| The IAEA claims that about 40 countries are on the verge of creating nuclear weapons. Will threshold countries continue to grow?
Evgeny Avrorin | What does a country gain by acquiring nuclear weapons? It acquires more weight, more authority, feels more secure. These are positive factors. There is only one negative factor - the country is experiencing dissatisfaction with the international community. But, unfortunately, the example of India and Pakistan has shown that positive factors prevail. No sanctions were applied against these countries.
The negative factors of possession of nuclear weapons prevailed in such countries as South Africa and Brazil: the first eliminated them, the second was on the verge of creation, but refused to create. Even small Switzerland had a program to create nuclear weapons, but also turned it off in time. The most important thing to be offered to the so-called "threshold countries" is guarantees of their security in exchange for giving up the bombs. And we need to improve the control system. We need constant international monitoring, and not inspections that carry out one-time checks. Today this system is full of holes...
Reserves of highly enriched uranium are possessed by 43 states of the world, including 28 developing ones.
In the late 60s of the last century, Libya asked the USSR to build a reactor, and in the early 70s it tried to buy a nuclear bomb from China. The peace reactor was built, and the deal with the Chinese fell through.
The RN-28 light and compact nuclear bomb was created especially for the Yak-38 carrier-based VTOL attack aircraft, whose combat load was extremely limited. The "ammunition" of such bombs on the heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers "Kiev" was 18 pieces.
The world's most powerful hydrogen bomb "Kuzkina mother" ("product 602") weighed 26.5 tons and did not fit into the bomb bay of any of those that existed at that time heavy bombers. She was hung under the fuselage of a Tu-95V specially converted for this purpose and dropped on October 30, 1961 in the area of the Matochkin Shar Strait on Novaya Zemlya. The "product 602" was not accepted into service - it was intended solely for psychological pressure on the Americans.
In 1954, during the Totsk exercises, a real nuclear bomb was dropped on the "stronghold of the US Army infantry battalion", after which a real nuclear bomb was dropped through the center nuclear explosion troops attacked. The bomb was called Tatyana, and it was dropped from a Tu-4A, an exact copy of the American B-29 strategic bomber.
Ilan Ramon, the future first Israeli astronaut, also took part in the famous Israeli air raid on the Iraqi nuclear research center in Osirak. During the bombing, at least one non-Iraqi citizen, a French technician, was killed. Ilan Ramon himself did not bomb the reactor, but only on the F-15 fighter he covered the planes that struck. Ramon died in an accident on the US shuttle Columbia in 2003.
Since 1945, approximately 128 thousand nuclear charges have been produced in the world. Of these, the United States produced a little more than 70 thousand, the USSR and Russia - about 55 thousand.
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nuclear bombs is one of the main political tools used during negotiations and conflict resolution. These lethal weapons are possessed by only a few states, often determining the fate of the world. The rating of countries with nuclear weapons, which the editors of Zuzako compiled on the basis of information from reliable sources, officially includes only 9 states.
Nuclear powers of the world for 2019
| Category | Place | Name | Characteristic | Link |
| Nuclear countries of the world | 1 | Number of warheads - 7000 | ||
| 2 | Number of warheads - 6800 | |||
| 3 | Number of warheads - 300 | |||
| 4 | Number of warheads - 270 | |||
| 5 | Number of warheads - 215 | |||
| 6 | Number of warheads - 140 | |||
| 7 | Number of warheads - 130 | |||
| 8 | Number of warheads - 80 | |||
| 9 | Number of warheads from 10 to 60 |
Countries that have their own nuclear weapons
To find out who has nuclear weapons (NW), it is necessary to study the list of states that have the appropriate weapons. They include 10 countries with powerful nuclear potential.
Russia
United States of America
In 2010, the US and Russia signed an agreement under which countries can have no more than 700 warheads.
France
People's Republic of China
Great Britain
The UK has neither strategic bombers nor ballistic missiles (intercontinental). The only element of the triad are a few submarines.
Pakistan
India
Israel
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
In 2012, Pyongyang announced the completion of the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles Hwaseong-13. Their main feature was a long flight range, which made it possible to strike at the territory of one of the main enemies - the United States.
Countries that have allowed the deployment of nuclear warheads on the territory
In most cases, the locations of nuclear weapons and their quantity are kept secret. However, persistent journalists will still find out this information. It is not official, so you should not trust it 100%.
In non-nuclear countries, only the United States of America deploys its weapons. Among the states on whose territory there are deadly bombs are:
- Belgium
- Germany
- Italy
- Turkey
- Netherlands
The charges are stored at US military bases located in the listed European countries.
With a number of countries, the US military is negotiating the deployment of nuclear weapons. The list of these states includes:
- Japan
- Taiwan
- South Korea
- Vietnam
- Mongolia
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- Poland
- Georgia
- Lithuania
- Latvia
- EstoniaWho is on the verge of creating nuclear weapons
At different periods of history, dozens of countries were organizing nuclear forces, as well as developing and testing appropriate weapons. Gradually, the situation became more and more tense, so many states were forced to curtail their programs.
In 2019, no one is developing nuclear weapons. However, this official information is not true. There is an opinion about the secret development of deadly weapons by 3 countries of the world. These include:
- Myanmar
The presence of a nuclear program in Iran, Iraq and Myanmar has not been officially proven.
Iran is working most diligently on its military program. So far, there is no official evidence of the existence of an atomic bomb in this country, but almost no one doubts that this is only a matter of time. In order to prevent the emergence of another nuclear power, the leaders of various countries of the world agree with Iran. At the same time, the authorities of the Asian country claim that they are going to use the atom exclusively for peaceful purposes, but at any moment they can start developing nuclear weapons.
What will happen to the nuclear treaty between countries
The first nuclear weapons appeared immediately after the end of the Great Patriotic War. At this time, the first shell was blown up. After 2 months, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Japan) were attacked.
Quite a lot of time has passed since the use of nuclear weapons. However, the possibility of total destruction continues to worry most of the world's population. In order to prevent a war with nuclear weapons, a special treaty was concluded that limited its participants in matters of the creation and proliferation of nuclear weapons. The document was approved by the UN General Assembly in 1968 and signed by almost all world leaders. The parties to the treaty were urged to abandon their developments or start disarmament.
Compliance with the terms of the agreement is closely monitored by international representatives. According to their data, some countries violate their obligations. Because of this, no expert can say for sure what will happen to the nuclear treaty in the near future.
The list of countries that have nuclear weapons is quite short. However, in their "hands a huge number of warheads with nuclear charge, which is enough to destroy all life on the planet dozens of times. This article will help you get to know the nuances of their nuclear programs and assess the degree of danger to humanity.
Today, when more than 70 years have passed since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the scientific and industrial potential of many states makes it possible to create super-powerful ammunition, any educated person should know that there are nuclear weapons. Given the secrecy of such a topic, the unwillingness of some governments and regimes to declare the real state of affairs in this area is not an easy task.
The Fab Five
The USA was the first. A country that traded with both allies and enemies, having received a net profit from the war, greater than all the gigantic losses of Nazi Germany, had the opportunity to invest huge funds in the "Manhattan Project". The birthplace of Batman, Captain America in its inherent democratic manner, without hesitation, in 1945 the United States tested an atomic bomb on the peaceful cities of Japan. In 1952, the United States was the first to use thermonuclear weapons, many times more destructive than the first atomic weapons.
The list titled "Which countries have nuclear weapons" with the death of innocent people, radioactive ash was inscribed in the first line.
The second had to become the Soviet Union. Having a “democratic” savage brandishing an atomic club as a neighbor on the planet was simply dangerous, without having a similar weapon for protection and the possibility of retaliation. Depleted Great Patriotic War the country needed colossal efforts of scientists, intelligence officers, engineers, and workers in order to inform the Soviet people already in 1949 that they had created an atomic bomb. In 1953, thermonuclear weapons were tested.
Fortunately, Nazi Germany was not the first to work on the creation of a military-defense complex based on a chain reaction of fission of uranium nuclei. The help of German scientists and engineers, the use of the technologies developed by them, exported by the US Army, greatly simplified the creation of a superweapon by the overseas empire of "good".
Which countries have nuclear weapons - this question follows the leaders of the rapidly developing race spurred cold war between the USA and the USSR, England, China, France tried to answer. Chronologically, it looked like this:
Explicit and covert
What countries have nuclear weapons besides the "old" nuclear powers? Those who openly announced the creation and testing of both atomic and later thermonuclear weapons were:
First of all, it is Israel. No one doubts that this country has nuclear weapons. She did not conduct his ground or underground explosions. There are only suspicions about joint tests in the South Atlantic together with South Africa, which was also considered the owner of nuclear stocks before the fall of the apartheid regime. Currently, South Africa completely denies their presence.
For many years, the world community, and, above all, Israel, was suspected of developing and creating nuclear technologies for military use by Iraq and Iran. The valiant defenders of democracy who invaded Iraq did not find there either nuclear weapons or chemical weapons with bacteriological to boot, about which they immediately bashfully kept silent. Iran, under the influence of international sanctions, recently opened all its facilities related to nuclear energy to IAEA inspectors, who confirmed the absence of developments in the creation of weapons-grade plutonium.
Now, Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is suspected of secretly seeking to acquire a superweapon.
This is where the list of states of the nuclear club, consisting of explicit and secret members, ends.
Which countries have nuclear weapons, at the moment, all interested parties know quite accurately, because this is a question global security. About ongoing in many countries from South Korea, Brazil to Saudi Arabia, having sufficient scientific, production potential, work on creating their own nuclear weapons, information appears in the media from time to time, but there is no official, documentary evidence of this.