The only nuclear warhead torpedo used by the United States was the Mark 45 torpedo. The Soviet Union widely deployed T5 nuclear torpedoes in 1958 and the U.S. deployed its Mark 45 torpedo in 1963. In 2015, there were rumors that Russia was developing a new nuclear torpedo, the Status-6.
The low speed of China's nuclear torpedoes relative to ICBMs and Poseidon, combined with their potentially substantial acoustic signature, means that potential targets may have time to implement defensive measures and position countermeasures long before they reach them.
With its retirement, the largest bomb currently in service in the U.S. nuclear arsenal is the B83, with a maximum yield of 1.2 megatons. The B53 was replaced in the bunker-busting role by the B61 Mod 11.
Capabilities at a Glance
The United States submarine force consists of four operational classes – Ohio, Los Angeles, Seawolf, and Virginia – all of which are nuclear-powered. The 14 Ohio-class SSBNs serve as the sea-based leg of the U.S. strategic triad.
The US also has an estimated 100 nuclear warheads stored across Europe on air bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey, according to the Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
Nuclear weapons are unique, and the circumstances in which NATO might contemplate the use of them are extremely remote. However, if the fundamental security of any Ally were to be threatened, NATO has the capabilities and resolve to defend itself – including with nuclear weapons.
Canada does not have nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons or relevant delivery systems, and is a member in good standing of all relevant nonproliferation treaties and regimes.
With the dismantling of the last B53 bomb in 2011, the B83 became the highest yield nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal. In 2022, Biden administration declared that they plan to retire B83.
Ballistic missile submarines are at the core of Russia's strategic nuclear strike capability. Each boat can throw around 100 nuclear warheads thousands of miles in a single salvo. The Borei-A class submarine, Knyaz Vladimir, has now been seen with the famous 'Z' marking.
The US only has a limited ability to destroy an incoming nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile, a study released last month by the American Physical Society concluded.
The declassified study from the scientists at the Los Alamos laboratory, published in 1947 had first shed light on the question that how many nuclear bombs it would take to destroy the world. According to the study, it would take about ten to a hundred 'super nukes' to end humanity, a publication reported.
But Irwin Redlener, a public-health expert at Columbia University who specializes in disaster preparedness, told Insider in 2019 that the six most likely targets — New York, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, DC — would be ill-prepared for a nuclear impact.
The four Vanguard-class submarines form the UK's strategic nuclear deterrent force. Each boat is armed with Trident 2 D5 nuclear missiles.
The torpedo was intended to carry a thermonuclear (hydrogen) warhead a distance of up to 16 nautical miles. The T-15, with a diameter of more than five feet and a length of approximately 77 feet, was expected to weigh some 40 tons. A battery-powered electric motor would propel it at an undersea speed of about 30 knots.
Originally Answered: What happens to the reactor if a nuclear submarine is destroyed by a torpedo / mine ? The reactor sinks with the sub, and that's pretty much the end of it.
Three shorter range tactical anti-ballistic missile systems are currently operational: the U.S. Army Patriot, U.S. Navy Aegis combat system/SM-2 missile, and the Israeli Arrow missile. In general short-range tactical ABMs cannot intercept ICBMs, even if within range (Arrow-3 can intercept ICBMs).
Known as the “Ground-based Midcourse Defense” (GMD), the system's basic premise is simple: incoming warheads are tracked by radar and satellite and targeted by defensive “interceptor” missiles, launched from the bases in Alaska and California—a task sometimes described as “hitting a bullet with a bullet.”
The Poseidons, first revealed in 2015, are strategic nuclear weapons designed to circumvent the West's growing ballistic missile defense capability. The concept calls for the 80-foot nuclear torpedoes to be armed with up to a 100-megaton warhead that could be launched from thousands of miles away from a coastal target.
It would take a land- based missile about 30 minutes to fly between Russia and the United States; a submarine-based missile could strike in as little as 10 to 15 minutes after launch.
Although Germany has the technical capability to produce weapons of mass destruction, since World War II it has generally refrained from producing those weapons. However, Germany participates in the NATO nuclear weapons sharing arrangements and trains for delivering United States nuclear weapons.
As of 2022, there were estimated to be approximately 4,178 nuclear warheads belonging to three NATO allies, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.
Implementation. In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Mexico submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 22 January 2021 confirming that it does not own, possess, or control nuclear weapons, has never done so, and does not host any other state's nuclear weapons on its territory.