Today, he is increasingly being talked about in the international arenaIn mid-September, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared his readiness to use nuclear weapons to protect the country, among other things.
The topic of its application in recent days has been heard at the highest level and in the speeches of other world leaders. Foreign analysts are again, as in the Cold War, thinking about the likelihood of the appearance of tactical nuclear weapons in limited conflicts. Izvestia was looking into what modern samples of them could be in service with our country
Tactical nuclear weapons
Nuclear weapons can be divided into two large classes: strategic nuclear deterrence systems and tactical nuclear weapons (TNW). The first class is represented by the usual means of the nuclear triad — heavy long-range missiles capable of reaching other continents. They are equipped with RVSN, submarines, long-range aircraft.
In the second class, numerous, but less well—known nuclear weapons are tactical. Due to the fact that the countries of the "nuclear club" report on it in much less detail than on the strategic one, there is not much information about TNW.
 |
| A nuclear explosion. |
| Source: Global Look Press |
Such warheads can be mounted on conventional weapons and, theoretically, can be used in a limited war. Both Russia and the United States have large reserves of it. It is found in smaller quantities in other countries of the "nuclear club". Their main difference from strategic systems is their compactness and much less power.
According to tradition, the power of nuclear weapons is measured in TNT equivalent — an approximate amount of a conventional explosive that must be detonated simultaneously in one place to repeat such power. For strategic weapons, it usually amounts to hundreds of kilotons and megatons — thousands and millions of tons of conventional explosives.
The TNT equivalent of TNW is less — units and tens of kilotons. It's still a terrifying threat. So, one train of 50 cars is about 2500 tons of explosives, or only 2.5 ct. In terms of power, the bulky American bombs dropped on Hiroshima (15 kt) and Nagasaki (21 kt) would now be classified as tactical weapons.
On the ground
Modern nuclear warheads are quite compact and can weigh about 150-200 kg. Such a mass allows them to be placed in many missiles and even in large-caliber artillery shells. Back in the 1960s, small-sized nuclear charges were created in the USSR for 152-mm projectiles and for short-range tactical missiles of the Luna type, and later Luna-M. With their help, it was possible to throw nuclear warheads at a range of 15-20 km and 70 km, respectively. But, despite the horrific consequences of being used at such a range, the explosion did not pose an immediate danger to an artillery or missile battery.
In the 1970s and 1980s, several variants of nuclear warheads with a capacity of 10 to 100 kilotons of TNT equivalent were created for the Tochka and Tochka–U tactical missile systems, which until recently were in service with the brigades of the missile forces of the Russian Ground forces. The development of these warheads was carried out by the VNIIEF nuclear center in Sarov.
 |
| OTRK "Iskander-M". |
| Source: IZVESTIA/Zurab Javakhadze |
In 2018, a mock-up of a nuclear warhead for the Iskander-M ballistic missile complex was shown at the Army-2018 exhibition. It was also developed by the Russian nuclear center VNIIEF in Sarov. The power of this warhead is probably from 5 to 50 kilotons. Combined with the highest accuracy of the Iskanders, this is enough to destroy any, even the most fortified object within a few minutes. And there are a lot of such missiles — it was on Iskanders that all the numerous brigades of missile troops were recently re-equipped.
In addition to ballistic missiles, Iskander-M complexes can use non-nuclear cruise missiles 9M728 and 9M729. Each of them can carry a warhead weighing at least 480 kg. This is more than enough to equip them with a nuclear warhead, because they are lighter than conventional ones.
In heaven
The VKS has a lot of non-strategic nuclear weapons at its disposal. The newest missile system with hypersonic missiles "Dagger" is certainly capable of using missiles in nuclear equipment. It was created for the conditions of a "big" war and has the reach of its light combat unit up to 2000 km.
But the nuclear component of modern tactical aviation does not live by a single "Dagger". At the end of the 1980s, the universal high-precision missile X-59M "Gadfly-M" was adopted for its service. It can be used by front-line bombers Su-34 and Su-24M, as well as multi-purpose fighters such as Su-30 and Su-35S. For this missile, a nuclear warhead weighing about 150 kg was created at the same VNIIEF at one time . Its capacity can range from 3-5 to 50-100 kilotons of TNT equivalent.
 |
| The X-59MK (c) bmpd extended-range air-to-surface missile. |
| Source: bmpd.livejournal.com |
And there are also free-falling atomic bombs of small power. This is where the history of the combat use of nuclear weapons began. This type of nuclear weapons is definitely still in the warehouses and in service with the Russian Military Space Forces. Their mass ranges from 250 to 500 kilograms and almost any attack aircraft can use such bombs, starting with the Su-25 attack aircraft. Such aircraft are equipped with a special protection system against unauthorized use. Technically, this issue was resolved back in the 1950s and 1960s.
And the sea
The Kalibr sea cruise missiles were created based on the developments of the Soviet long-range nuclear cruise missiles "Granat". Those at one time carried a warhead with a capacity of 200 kilotons and could be used from various nuclear submarines from torpedo tubes.
"Calibers" have become more versatile — they can launch from torpedo tubes, missile silos of submarines, universal vertical launchers of surface ships. The media has already mentioned the possibility of equipping the "Calibers" not only with conventional warheads. Technically, there are no obstacles to placing a nuclear warhead with a capacity of 50 to 200 kilotons in the hull of a Kalibr cruise missile.
 |
| Launch of the Kalibr missile from a frigate of the Black Sea Fleet. |
| Source: Photo: TASS/Press Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation |
But in addition to the "Calibers", the ships and coastal units of the Russian Navy are also armed with supersonic Onyx missiles. The mass of the Onyx payload is at least 200 kg. It turns out that theoretically this supersonic missile, which is almost impenetrable by air defense, can also be equipped with a nuclear warhead. It can be used not only on ships, but also on ground—based radio-contrast targets - for example, on a building or some kind of structure.
The military-technical capabilities of the Russian non-strategic nuclear forces are enormous. According to foreign estimates, the Russian Federation today has the most powerful and extensive arsenal of such weapons systems in the world. Their use without an order is impossible — everywhere such systems operate under strict technical control of the presence of an order for use. It will not be possible to use them without a special order from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief or the General Staff.
Dmitry Kornev
