Developments in Nuclear Weapons Around the World

Zafer

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Türkiye should foster innovation and build capabilities even faster now. We should get past making traditional systems and start pushing the envelope. It could help if we had some hydrocarbons to fuel our building strenght.
We should start the nuclear power submarine project as soon as possible.
 

No Name

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We should start the nuclear power submarine project as soon as possible.

Türkiye should use nuclear power for civilian use, not military. one of the biggest problems with Türkiye is that it is too energy-dependent and the only nuclear plant Türkiye is building is owned by a foreign country which is such a stupid decision that it destroys the purpose of a nuclear plant in the first place.
 

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F69Bb_9WIAI-del

F69BcATWEAAGZsp

F69Bb_7WIAEe_5I

F69Bb_-XgAEodat
 

Nilgiri

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I don't see how the threat increases by these developments.

World war threat increases in most drastic way if you do things by stealth, sudden extreme innovation tech and/or subterfuge and another big guy catches you.

That's what the US and USSR worked on first as priority for example in cold war to minimize chances of that ladder.

These things now though are all being openly shown to each other's intel (sat birds et al.)

It is just another layer in deterrence by MAD now (what is the arsenal state, what are the next steps in the arsenal for MAD tier assurance)

The (generalised non-subterfuge related increase) threat of the war comes from other developments (which have some crossover ofc to arsenal development, but it varies):

Tactically: misunderstandings +fear politically between the establishments to create new voids for unknowns+hotheads to surface

Strategically: how these parties wargame and factor in things like windows for cheapshots and early first strikes with minimal blowback etc, stockpile survivability, counter defences, detection + interdiction of SSBN etc
 

Bogeyman 

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I don't see how the threat increases by these developments.

World war threat increases in most drastic way if you do things by stealth, sudden extreme innovation tech and/or subterfuge and another big guy catches you.

That's what the US and USSR worked on first as priority for example in cold war to minimize chances of that ladder.

These things now though are all being openly shown to each other's intel (sat birds et al.)

It is just another layer in deterrence by MAD now (what is the arsenal state, what are the next steps in the arsenal for MAD tier assurance)

The (generalised non-subterfuge related increase) threat of the war comes from other developments (which have some crossover ofc to arsenal development, but it varies):

Tactically: misunderstandings +fear politically between the establishments to create new voids for unknowns+hotheads to surface

Strategically: how these parties wargame and factor in things like windows for cheapshots and early first strikes with minimal blowback etc, stockpile survivability, counter defences, detection + interdiction of SSBN etc
This tension rises indirectly rather than directly. There have been no nuclear weapons tests since the 90s. Because no one had the capacity to challenge the USA. It shows that these states are now preparing to show off with nuclear weapons in their disputes with each other.

Apart from that, if we come to the direct aspect of the issue;
Even though the Russian challenge is now just rhetoric on paper in terms of the military balance of power, the Russians are still covertly fighting NATO in Ukraine.
This was something that had not been seen even during the cold war years. Beyond the balance of power, even during the Cold War years, the superpowers did not come to the point of going to war directly over each other's territory, as in the case of Taiwan. Here, the separatist forces are supported by a bloc from the opposite camp and are willing to fight for it. So yes, there has not been such a great tension since World War II.


Let me give an imaginary example. Let's imagine that Alaska is preparing to declare independence from the USA and even establishes a de facto state and its own independent administrative, economic and military structure. China also threatens the USA with war if it intervenes in Alaska. Now, will the increased possibility of US intervention lead to a World War 3 or not? I am writing this to explain the seriousness of the military tension, beyond the arguments of the parties (regardless of who is right or wrong).
 

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Exclusive: Satellite images show increased activity at nuclear test sites in Russia, China and US​



Russia, the United States and China have all built new facilities and dug new tunnels at their nuclear test sites in recent years, satellite images obtained exclusively by CNN show, at a time when tensions between the three major nuclear powers have risen to their highest in decades.

While there is no evidence to suggest that Russia, the US or China is preparing for an imminent nuclear test, the images, obtained and provided by a prominent analyst in military nonproliferation studies, illustrate recent expansions at three nuclear test sites compared with just a few years ago.

One is operated by China in the far western region of Xinjiang, one by Russia in an Arctic Ocean archipelago, and another in the US in the Nevada desert.

The satellite images from the past three to five years show new tunnels under mountains, new roads and storage facilities, as well as increased vehicle traffic coming in and out of the sites, said Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

“There are really a lot of hints that we’re seeing that suggest Russia, China and the United States might resume nuclear testing,” he said, something none of those countries have done since underground nuclear testing was banned by the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. China and the US signed the treaty, but they haven’t ratified it.

Retired US Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton, a former intelligence analyst, reviewed the images of the three powers’ nuclear sites and came to a similar conclusion.


“It’s very clear that all three countries, Russia, China and the United States have invested a great deal of time, effort and money in not only modernizing their nuclear arsenals, but also in preparing the types of activities that would be required for a test,” he said.

Moscow has ratified the treaty, but Russian President Vladimir Putin said in February he would order a test, if the US moves first, adding that “no one should have dangerous illusions that global strategic parity can be destroyed.”

The expansions risk sparking a race to modernize nuclear weapons testing infrastructure at a time of deep mistrust between Washington and the two authoritarian governments, analysts said, though the idea of actual armed conflict is not considered imminent.

“The threat from nuclear testing is from the degree to which it accelerates the growing arms race between the United States on one hand, and Russia and China on the other,” Lewis said. “The consequences of that are that we spend vast sums of money, even though we don’t get any safer.”

Nuclear threats​

Lewis’ comments came after a prominent nuclear watchdog group, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, earlier this year set its iconic Doomsday Clock, a measure of how close the world is to self-destruction, to 90 seconds to midnight, the clock’s most precarious setting since its inception in 1947.

The group cited the war in Ukraine, sparked by Russia’s illegal invasion of its neighbor in February 2022, as main reason for its sobering assessment.


“Russia’s thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons remind the world that escalation of the conflict – by accident, intention, or miscalculation – is a terrible risk. The possibility that the conflict could spin out of anyone’s control remains high,” the group said.

In other words, the Doomsday Clock today signals a higher risk of the end of humankind than in 1953, when both the United States and the Soviet Union conducted dramatic above-ground tests of nuclear weapons.

Last month United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a fresh appeal for key countries to ratify the international treaty that bans experiments for both peaceful and military purposes

“This year, we face an alarming rise in global mistrust and division,” Guterres said. “At a time in which nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons are stockpiled around the world — and countries are working to improve their accuracy, reach and destructive power — this is a recipe for annihilation.”

Lewis pointed out that the unexpectedly poor performance of the Russian military in Ukraine could be part of the impetus for Moscow to consider resuming nuclear tests.

Dmitry Medvedev, a hawkish backer of Putin and the current deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, has vowed Moscow “would have to use nuclear weapons” if the Ukraine counteroffensive became successful. Medvedev’s bellicose rhetoric has raised eyebrows, but Putin is Russia’s key decision-maker, and widely seen as the real power behind the throne during Medvedev’s four-year presidency.


Belarus, which has played a key role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has also received tactical nuclear weapons from Moscow, President Alexander Lukashenko said in August. He added that Minsk would be willing to use them in the face of foreign “aggression.”

Russia and China​

Even as the Russian military was invading Ukraine last year, analysts have also seen an expansion of the country’s nuclear test site in Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean archipelago.

In mid-August, the facility received renewed focus when Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu paid a visit, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

View attachment 61429
New Construction at Russia's Novaya Zemlya nuclear test site, June 22, 2023.



The Novaya Zemlya site was first used by the Soviet Union to conduct nuclear tests in 1955 until the USSR’s final underground explosion in 1990. During that time, the site saw a total of 130 tests involving more than 200 devices, according to a review published in the Science and Global Security journal.

Satellite images obtained by CNN showed that there has been extensive construction at the Novaya Zemlya test site from 2021 to 2023, with ships and new shipping containers arriving at its port, roads being kept clear in the winter, and tunnels dug deep into the Arctic mountains.

“The Russian test site is now open year round, we see them clearing snow off roads, we see them building new facilities.” Lewis said.

Near those facilities are tunnels where Russia has tested in past, Lewis said. “In the past five or six years, we’ve seen Russia dig new tunnels, which suggests that they are prepared to resume nuclear testing,” he added.

“It’s pretty clear to me that the Russians are gearing up for a possible nuclear test,” added Leighton, the former US Air Force intelligence officer and now a CNN analyst. But he offered what he said were important “caveats.”

“The Russians may be trying to go right up to the line by making all the preparations for a nuclear test, but not actually carrying one out. In essence, they’d be doing this to ‘scare’ the West,” Leighton said.

Moscow has not responded to CNN’s request for comment on this subject, and there is no way know exactly what is going on hidden from the view of satellites.


View attachment 61430
Lop Nur nuclear test site.


Increased activity was also detected at the Chinese nuclear test site in Lop Nur, a dried up salt lake between two deserts in the sparsely populated western China.

Satellite images show a new, fifth underground tunnel has been under excavation in recent years, and fresh roads have been built. A comparison of the images taken in 2022 and 2023 shows the spoil pile has been steadily increasing in size, leading analysts to believe tunnels are being expanded, Lewis said.

In addition, the main administration and support area has seen new construction projects. A new storage area was built in 2021 and 2022, which could be used for storing explosives, he added.

“The Chinese test site is different than the Russian test site,” Lewis said. “The Chinese test site is vast, and there are many different parts of it.”

“(It) looks really busy, and these things are easily seen in satellite imagery. If we can see them, I think the US government certainly can,” he added.

Increased activity at Lop Nur was also noted in an April report by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s China Observer project, a group of China experts in Japan.

After an analysis of satellite photos of the Lop Nur site, the group concluded that China’s “possible goal is to conduct subcritical nuclear tests.”

It found a possible sixth testing tunnel under construction at Lop Nur, saying “the fact that a very long tunnel has been dug along the mountain’s terrain with bends on the way indicates that the construction of the test site is in its final phase.”

In a statement to CNN, China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the report as “hyping up ‘China’s nuclear threat’,” and described it as “extremely irresponsible.”

View attachment 61431
New Construction at the administrative and support area, Lop Nor nuclear test site.


“Since the announcement of suspending nuclear tests in 1996, the Chinese side has consistently respected this promise and worked hard in defending the international consensus on prohibiting nuclear testing,” it said.

It added that the international world should have “high vigilance” about the United States’ activities in nuclear testing.

Activity in Nevada’s desert​

The US releases an unclassified version of the Nuclear Posture Review every few years, which provides an overview of the role of nuclear weapons in its security strategy.

The most recent report, released in October last year, said that Washington would only consider using nuclear weapons in “extreme circumstances.” However, it also stated that the US does not adopt a “no first use policy” because it would result in an “unacceptable level of risk” to its security.

The US conducted its last underground test in 1992, but Lewis said the US has long been keeping itself in a state of readiness for a nuclear test, ready to react if one of its rivals moves first.

“The United States has a policy of being prepared to conduct a nuclear test on relatively short notice, about six months,” he said.

The commercial satellite imagery, taken above the nuclear test site in Nevada, officially known as the Nevada National Security Site, shows that an underground facility – the U1a complex – was expanded greatly between 2018 and 2023.

The National Security Administration (NNSA), an arm of the US Department of Energy that oversees the site, says the laboratory is for conducting “subcritical” nuclear experiments, a longstanding practice meant to ensure the reliability of weapons in the current stockpile without full-scale testing.

“In subcritical experiments, chemical high explosives generate high pressures, which are applied to nuclear weapon materials, such as plutonium. The configuration and quantities of explosives and nuclear materials are such that no nuclear explosion will occur,” the NNSA’s website says.

In response to CNN’s request for comment, a spokesperson from the NNSA confirmed it has been “recapitalizing infrastructure and scientific capabilities” at the Nevada test site, which includes procuring new advanced sources and detectors, developing reactivity measurement technology, and continuing tunneling activity.

“(This) will provide modern diagnostic capabilities and data to help maintain the safety and performance of the US nuclear stockpile without further underground nuclear explosive testing,” the spokesman added.


View attachment 61432
Construction activity, Nevada National Security Site from 2023 to 2018.


A report from the US Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) released in August says the US will build two measurement devices at the Nevada site to “make new measurements of plutonium during subcritical experiments.”

The devices and related infrastructure improvements, needed “to inform plans for modernizing the nuclear weapons stockpile” will cost about $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion and be ready by 2030, according to the GAO report.

A spokesman from the National Security Council also told CNN that it is closely monitoring Russia’s military activities, but added it has “not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture.”

However, the expansion of facilities at the Nevada test site could fuel fears in Moscow and Beijing that Washington may be preparing for a nuclear test – because while both countries could see the development from satellite images, they lack the ability to independently verify what’s going on inside, Lewis said.

And such perceptions can become dangerous, especially in the current era with fear and lack of trust on all sides, he said.

“The danger is even if all three start by only planning to go second, one of them might talk themselves into the importance of going first, one of them might decide that since everybody else is doing it, it’s better to get the jump and really get going.”

If they do, the world would know – any major underground blast is likely to be detected by the International Monitoring System (IMS), a network of 337 facilities that monitors the planet for signs of nuclear explosions.

Continued modernization​

Hans Kristensen, the director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, agreed there is a real danger of testing escalation should one of the major powers do so.

“The minute one of the major nuclear powers pops a nuclear weapon somewhere, you know, all bets are off, because there’s no doubt that everyone will join that business again,” he said.

In a recent yearbook on world nuclear forces, co-authored by Kristensen and published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in June, analysts concluded that all of the world’s nuclear powers – which also included the United Kingdom, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel – have continued to “modernize their nuclear arsenals” last year.

Russia, for instance, announced on September 1 that its new Sarmat or “Satan II” intercontinental ballistic missile is operational. The Sarmat could carry 10 and possibly more independently targeted nuclear warheads with a range of up to 18,000 kilometers (or about 11,185 miles), according to the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The US is also building new delivery systems for nuclear warheads like the B-21 stealth bomber and Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine. As part of the upgrade, nuclear storage sites will also be added to US Air Force bases in Ellsworth and Dyess, Kristensen wrote in a report in the Federation of American Scientists in 2020.


The SIPRI report said that Russia and the US currently possess about 90% of all nuclear weapons in the world, with the US estimated to have more than 3,700 warheads stockpiled, and Russia having about 4,500. Both countries keep their strategic nuclear arsenals on “hair-trigger” alert, meaning that nuclear weapons can be launched on short notice.

China’s nuclear arsenal has increased from 350 warheads in January 2022 to 410 in January 2023.

In the past, China did not marry up warheads with delivery systems, keeping their nuclear forces on a “low-alert” status. But the Arms Control Association (ACA) NGO said this year the PLA now rotates missile battalions from stand-by to ready-to-launch status monthly.

Fiona Cunningham, a nonresident scholar in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote in the ACA’s monthly journal in August that Beijing’s nuclear stance is hard to discern.

“The increasing size, accuracy, readiness, and diversity of China’s arsenal bolsters the credibility of the country’s ability to threaten retaliation for a nuclear strike and enables China to make more credible threats to use nuclear weapons first,” she wrote.


View attachment 61433
Aerial view of snow covering on Lop Nur lake and Taklamakan Desert at Yuli County on November 28, 2021, in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China.




But Kristensen told CNN that while all three major powers have been engaging in subcritical tests, he believed “a full-scale nuclear test is unlikely.”

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, agreed, writing in the organization’s September newsletter that “China, Russia, and the United States continue to engage in weapons-related activities at their former nuclear testing sites.”

But Kimball noted that without a real test, “it is more difficult, although not impossible, for states to develop, prove, and field new warhead designs.”

What’s the point of more tests?​

But if all three countries have suspended nuclear testing since the 1990s, what could they gain from the resumption of these tests?

Lewis said a reason to test, especially for China, is to get more up-to-date data for computer models that show what a nuclear explosion will do. Because while the United States and Russia have conducted hundreds of tests, China has only done around 40 and has significantly fewer data points.

“Those 40 tests were done in the 1960s, in the 1970s, in the 1980s, when their technology wasn’t that high. The data that you have is not that good,” Lewis said.


View attachment 61434
Novaya Zemlya is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean located north of Russia, August 23, 2012.



Others point out that the big powers have not tested low-yield nuclear weapons, which produce a smaller nuclear explosion that might be targeted on a specific battlefield unit or formation, rather than destroying a major city.

In a 2022 report for the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Baltimore, researchers Michael Frankel, James Scouras and George Ullrich suggest that the US might hesitate to retaliate for a Russian low-yield attack because it has not tested the types of weapons it would need to use.

“While the United States now has several lower-yield weapons in its arsenal, they are insufficient in quantity and diversity of delivery systems,” their report, titled “Tickling the Sleeping Dragon’s Tail,” says.

In particular, the report says, smaller nukes, with yields lower than a kiloton (for comparison, the atomic bomb the US dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945 had a yield of about 15 kilotons) that can be delivered by aircraft or ships have been proposed a deterrent to Russian nuclear threats.

“Such weapons are unlikely to be available absent testing,” the report says.

The United States, the world’s first nuclear power, has conducted 1,032 tests, the first coming in 1945 and the last coming in 1992, according to the United Nations’ data. The Soviet Union – now Russia – conducted 715 between 1949 and 1990, and China has tested 45 times between 1964 and 1996.

Lewis believed an urge for the US, Russia and China to be the first to develop “exotic” weapons of the future also instills a need for nuclear testing of those possible systemsl.

Some of these may soon be in the Russian arsenal, as Putin has boasted about weapons like an nuclear-armed doomsday torpedo and a nuclear-powered cruise missile.

“We’re on the verge of this kind of science fiction future where we are resurrecting all of these terrible ideas from the Cold War,” Lewis said.

Russia signals intent to quickly revoke ratification of nuclear test ban treaty​


Russia indicated on Friday that it was moving swiftly towards revoking its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) after President Vladimir Putin held out the possibility of resuming nuclear testing.

Putin said on Thursday Russia's nuclear doctrine - which sets out the conditions under which he would press the nuclear button - did not need updating but that he was not yet ready to say whether or not Moscow needed to resume nuclear tests.

The Kremlin chief said that Russia could look at revoking ratification of the CTBT as the United States had signed but not ratified it.

Russia's top lawmaker, Vyacheslav Volodin, then said the State Duma lower house of parliament would swiftly consider if there was a need to revoke Russia's ratification of the treaty.

The comments by Putin and Volodin suggest that Russia is seriously considering revoking ratification of the treaty, which bans nuclear explosions  by everyone, everywhere.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the point would be to achieve a "common denominator" between Russia and the United States. "This does not constitute a statement of intention to conduct nuclear tests," he told reporters.

However, Putin had signalled that possibility in his comments on Thursday. "As a rule, experts say, with a new weapon - you need to make sure that the special warhead will work without failures," Putin said.

A resumption of nuclear tests by Russia, the United States or China could indicate the start of a new nuclear arms race between the big powers who stopped nuclear testing in the years following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

For some scientists and campaigners, the splurge of nuclear bomb testing during the Cold War indicated the folly of nuclear brinkmanship which could ultimately destroy humanity and contaminate the planet for hundreds of thousands of years.


But the Ukraine war has raised tensions between Moscow and Washington to the highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis just as China seeks to bolster its nuclear arsenal to accord with its status as an emerging superpower.

Russia currently has around 5,889 nuclear warheads, compared with 5,244 for the United States, according to the Federation of American Scientists. China has 410 warheads, France 290 and Britain 225.

NUCLEAR TESTING?​

Between 1945 and the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, the United Nations has said, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were carried out - 1,032 by the United States and 715 by the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union last tested in 1990 and the United States in 1992. But signs have emerged that testing could resume.

In 2020, the Washington Post reported that the then-Trump administration had discussed whether to conduct a nuclear test.

Putin said on Thursday Russia had successfully tested a nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable cruise missile - the Burevestnik - whose capabilities he has called unmatched.

China is building hundreds of intercontinental ballistic missile silos, according to the 2023 Annual Threat Assessment by the U.S. intelligence community.

CNN reported this month that satellite images showed increasing activity at nuclear test sites in Russia, China and the United States.

Washington says China is reorienting its nuclear posture for strategic rivalry with the United States and is not interested in any arms control agreements which lock in U.S. or Russian nuclear dominance.

"China and Russia are seeking to ensure strategic stability with the United States through the growth and development of a range of weapons capabilities, including non-traditional weapons intended to defeat or evade U.S. missile defences," according to the U.S. threat assessment.

"Consequently, these new technologies probably will challenge the way states think about arms control, and we expect it will be difficult to achieve agreement on new weapon definitions or verification measures, particularly at the multilateral level."


Here we go again.
 

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US conducts nuclear test in Nevada hours after Russian move to revoke global test ban​

The U.S. conducted a high-explosive experiment at a nuclear test site in Nevada hours after Russia revoked a ban on atomic-weapons testing, which Moscow said would put it on par with the United States.

Wednesday's test used chemicals and radioisotopes to "validate new predictive explosion models" that can help detect atomic blasts in other countries, Bloomberg reported, citing the Department of Energy.

"These experiments advance our efforts to develop new technology in support of U.S. nuclear nonproliferation goals," Corey Hinderstein, Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration, said in a statement. "They will help reduce global nuclear threats by improving the detection of underground nuclear explosive tests.

The test is notable because of its timing. Russian lawmakers announced their intention to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

A bill will go to the Russian upper house, the Federation Council, which will consider it next week. Federation Council lawmakers have already said they will support the bill.

The treaty, adopted in 1996, bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, although it has never fully entered into force. In addition to the U.S., it is yet to be ratified by China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran and Egypt.

American officials have said more transparency is needed because while the U.S. and Russia don’t test warheads, they do conduct so-called sub-critical experiments — explosions that verify weapon designs without the amount of atomic material needed to sustain a chain reaction, the Bloomberg report said.

There are widespread concerns that Russia could resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West its continued support of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that while some experts have talked about the need to conduct nuclear tests, he hasn’t yet formed an opinion on the issue.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said last week that Moscow will continue to respect the ban and will only resume nuclear tests if Washington does so first.
 

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US conducts nuclear test in Nevada hours after Russian move to revoke global test ban​

The U.S. conducted a high-explosive experiment at a nuclear test site in Nevada hours after Russia revoked a ban on atomic-weapons testing, which Moscow said would put it on par with the United States.

Wednesday's test used chemicals and radioisotopes to "validate new predictive explosion models" that can help detect atomic blasts in other countries, Bloomberg reported, citing the Department of Energy.

"These experiments advance our efforts to develop new technology in support of U.S. nuclear nonproliferation goals," Corey Hinderstein, Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration, said in a statement. "They will help reduce global nuclear threats by improving the detection of underground nuclear explosive tests.

The test is notable because of its timing. Russian lawmakers announced their intention to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

A bill will go to the Russian upper house, the Federation Council, which will consider it next week. Federation Council lawmakers have already said they will support the bill.

The treaty, adopted in 1996, bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, although it has never fully entered into force. In addition to the U.S., it is yet to be ratified by China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran and Egypt.

American officials have said more transparency is needed because while the U.S. and Russia don’t test warheads, they do conduct so-called sub-critical experiments — explosions that verify weapon designs without the amount of atomic material needed to sustain a chain reaction, the Bloomberg report said.

There are widespread concerns that Russia could resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West its continued support of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that while some experts have talked about the need to conduct nuclear tests, he hasn’t yet formed an opinion on the issue.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said last week that Moscow will continue to respect the ban and will only resume nuclear tests if Washington does so first.
@Cabatli_TR @Test7 @Zafer @TheInsider @Nilgiri @Mis_TR_Like @TR_123456 @Rodeo
 

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Another step was taken towards World War 3. Who will perform the next test? North Korea? China? Russia?
 

Zafer

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The going is indicating a relaxation of tethers on nuclear weapons technology. When existing nuclear powers rekindle their efforts for more nuclear power, newcomers can find the pretext to go for it.
 

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Could Turkiye make an official and legal agreement with Pakistan with e.g. following statement: If a country, which possesses a nuclear arsenal, attacks Türkiye, she will be able to use the nuclear arsenal of Pakistan.
Would this agreement be legitimate? Just a question
 

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"Each nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty undertakes not to transfer to any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or control over such weapons or explosive devices directly or indirectly". Article I, Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

NATO nuclear sharing essentially contrasts with the NPT in its essence, in many ways. It also leaves the door open to potential collaborations of the kind you mentioned above.

I think it's a very gray area and there are a lot of examples that cannot be answered with a definite yes and a definite no. On the basis of jurisprudence and international agreements, the answer is very close to no.

I think the main issue here is going to be international political pressure. If you have the power to withstand it, and if you have a supporter in the UNSC, today you can invade a country in its entirety, let alone acquire nuclear weapons.
 

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That's a good questions,lets see who can answer.

@Cabatli_TR @Yasar @Nilgiri @Merzifonlu @dBSPL @Anmdt @Test7 @Bogeyman et all?
There is nothing illegal about giving another country some of your nuclear arsenal. US allowed Turkey to have a number of nuclear weapons. They were stationed on Turkish soil and were under joint control. (There should still be some on Turkish soil)
Also a country in possession of nuclear weapons can extend its protective umbrella over another country. This effectively gives nuclear protection.

How much of an uproar it would create in western circles is another question. But nothing illegal about it.

When we were close buddies with Putin after the s400 deal, he suggested that Russia can give Turkey the nuclear umbrella protection and respond in kind, if Turkey were threatened by other nuclear powers.

So not illegal. But repercussions in the west can be a matter of concern.

EDIT
India Pakistan and Israel never signed the non proliferation treaty. North Korea pulled out of it.
 
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Angry Turk !!!

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Could Turkiye make an official and legal agreement with Pakistan with e.g. following statement: If a country, which possesses a nuclear arsenal, attacks Türkiye, she will be able to use the nuclear arsenal of Pakistan.
Would this agreement be legitimate? Just a question
Never ever trust a third Country when it's about your Country's safety. Like I say every other day, Türkiye needs its OWN Nukes yesterday. The facade is off, the World is getting more dangerous every day and it's time...
 

Zafer

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I bet we get nuclear before 2028, I wish it happens earlier. It all depends on how self-reliant you are in defense tech. In 2028, we expect to hit 85% which is sufficient to have the supporting technology that should go along with nukes. A nuclear weapon is the sledgehammer in the workshop, you need to have all other tools too to go along with it to do a good job. By the end of 2028 we will hopefully have completed nearly all our weapons development programs and nukes can be the final touch in this period.
 

Nilgiri

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US conducts nuclear test in Nevada hours after Russian move to revoke global test ban​

The U.S. conducted a high-explosive experiment at a nuclear test site in Nevada hours after Russia revoked a ban on atomic-weapons testing, which Moscow said would put it on par with the United States.

Wednesday's test used chemicals and radioisotopes to "validate new predictive explosion models" that can help detect atomic blasts in other countries, Bloomberg reported, citing the Department of Energy.

"These experiments advance our efforts to develop new technology in support of U.S. nuclear nonproliferation goals," Corey Hinderstein, Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration, said in a statement. "They will help reduce global nuclear threats by improving the detection of underground nuclear explosive tests.

The test is notable because of its timing. Russian lawmakers announced their intention to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

A bill will go to the Russian upper house, the Federation Council, which will consider it next week. Federation Council lawmakers have already said they will support the bill.

The treaty, adopted in 1996, bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, although it has never fully entered into force. In addition to the U.S., it is yet to be ratified by China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran and Egypt.

American officials have said more transparency is needed because while the U.S. and Russia don’t test warheads, they do conduct so-called sub-critical experiments — explosions that verify weapon designs without the amount of atomic material needed to sustain a chain reaction, the Bloomberg report said.

There are widespread concerns that Russia could resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West its continued support of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that while some experts have talked about the need to conduct nuclear tests, he hasn’t yet formed an opinion on the issue.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said last week that Moscow will continue to respect the ban and will only resume nuclear tests if Washington does so first.

It is important to note that this was not an actual violation of the PTB or CTBT (latter that US never ratified)...this was a cold/simulation test from the detection angle it seems. No actual nuclear detonation.

With the declining relations and withdrawal of both sides from open skies overflight monitoring, all major sides will look to increase their detection capabilities from distance (essentially very sensitive, accurate seismographs and radiation sensor arrays like this one did).

The russian indication that it is looking to revoke its CTBT ratification (especially since US never ratified on its end, only signed) of course gives indication a new era of nuclear detonation testing may resume (past the subcritical, cold tests and simulation tests already continuing after cold war thaw), and it will be interesting to see which side tests first if so.
 

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