Tactical nuclear weapon

A tactical nuclear weapon (or TNW) refers to a nuclear weapon which is designed to actually be used on a battlefield in military situations. This is as opposed to strategic nuclear weapons which are designed to threaten large populations, damage the enemy's ability to wage war, or for general deterrence. Tactical nuclear weapons are generally considered part of a strategy of limited, rather than total, nuclear war.

Types of tactical nuclear weapons

Tactical weapons include not only gravity bombs and missiles, but also artillery shells, land mines, depth charges, and torpedoes for anti-submarine warfare. A tactical nuclear weapon would involve any of the above weapons with a nuclear warhead.

Small, two-man portable tactical weapons (sometimes misleadingly referred to as suitcase nukes), such as the Special Atomic Demolition Munition, have been developed, although the difficulty of combining sufficient yield with portability limits their military utility.

Other new tactical weapons undergoing research include earth penetrating weapons which are designed to target caves or bunkers.

The yield of tactical nuclear weapons is generally lower than that of strategic nuclear weapons, though they are still powerful, and some variable-yield warheads serve in both roles. Modern tactical nuclear warheads have yields up to the tens, or potentially hundreds of kilotons, several times that of the weapons used in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Some tactical nuclear weapons have specific features meant to enhance their battlefield characteristics, such as variable yield (as with the Davy Crockett), which allows their energy output to be varied greatly for a given situation, or enhanced radiation weapons (the so-called "neutron bombs") which are meant to maximize ionizing radiation exposure while minimizing blast effects.

Controversy and criticism

The development of tactical weapons has often been criticized along a number of grounds. Many have argued that the promise of being able to wage a "limited" nuclear war with tactical weapons is dangerously misleading, and that any confrontation between nuclear powers could lead to escalation and eventually the use of strategic weapons. Additionally, the small size of many tactical weapons make them potential targets for theft and nuclear terrorism, especially during times of political instability (such as the case of Russia immediately after the dissolution of the Soviet Union). Tactical nuclear weapons have in the past made up a large part of the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Soviet Union, and were a major part in the peak stockpile levels in the 1960s.

Conversely, some theorists argued during the Cold War that without tactical nuclear weapons, the United States would not have had a credible threat against the large armies of the Soviet Union, since it was unlikely that they would want to be the first to use strategic weapons in warfare. Because many felt that the use of any nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union would have triggered an exchange of strategic missile launches, though, the practical distinctions between tactical and strategic weapons may have effectively not existed.

Uses

The uses on the battlefield for TNWs would include:

Against a large ground force
Against a fortified underground bunker
Against remote and/or heavily-defended target locations difficult or impossible to reach with conventional weapons
Against a carrier battle group or any collection of surface vessels
Against a large amphibious invasion force
Against a 100+ vehicle supply convoy

Common names

FROGs (free rockets over ground)
Backpack nukes
Suitcase bombs (however, this name can be misleading as it can encompass other types of non-nuclear munitions)
Tactical nukes
Atomic bazookas

External links

CRS Report for Congress