what is the destructive range and fall-out of the SMALLEST strategic nuclear device
The range and fallout could vary widely, depending on the design. The smallest tactical nuke might have a yield as low as a few tenths of a kiloton. This makes the smallest nuke in the ballpark of the total energy release from the WTC disaster (around .25 kt), which makes me wonder why that attack is not considered a weapon of mass destruction, deserving of a commensurate response.
Destructive range and fallout depends on many factors, altitude, type of bomb, etc. If used for an airburst, and the weather conditions are favorable, the immediate lethal range might be kept to a few km and the fallout can be kept to a few tens of km. If used against an underground facility, fallout is more of a problem, because of the contaminated dust cloud that would be raised, but even there the range it depends on many factors. With care, the lethal radiation might be kept to under 100 km.
Radiation enhanced devices (neutron bombs) are much cleaner, but are useful mainly for airbursts against exposed forces, as they depend on prompt radiation effects for their lethality. A neutron bomb might have radiation effects restricted to a few hundred meters.
Whether we have any such devices in the stockpile I don't know. |
