China Ballistic Missiles and Nuclear Arms Thread

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Brigadier
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Well I guess China should end its no first use nuke policy if the US's Asian allies are okay with the US using nukes first on China. Also China if it has such a policy should stop its policy not to use nukes against non-nuclear countries if they're allied with the US.
The article seems to suggest US is considering a no-first-use policy ala China's own.
The U.S. has historically maintained ambiguity about whether it would carry out a first strike with a nuclear weapon, but the policy would expressly rule it out.
 

bustead

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We know that the primary for the DF-31 (maybe DF-41 as well) warhead has a 90kt yield (based on tests in the late 80s and early 90s). How many kg of Pu-239 would be needed for a 90kt implosion primary (disco ball)?
The Soviets tested a pure fission device with a yield of 9kt using 2kg of Pu-239. Keep in mind that the primary for W76 was only around 5-7kt in yield so it is reasonable to assume that a modern thermonuclear primary requires 1.5-1.8kg of Pu-239.

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Annihilation98

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China badly needs a new nuclear test. Their older design is not enough. The yield is low and very heavy. In my opinion, China should secretly do nuclear tests in North Korea to avoid worldwide sanctions. North Korea is very good testing ground.
 

Annihilation98

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I wonder if Chinese and North Korean scientists share explosion and design data in the 2017 North Korean nuclear test.
 

Xizor

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China badly needs a new nuclear test. Their older design is not enough. The yield is low and very heavy. In my opinion, China should secretly do nuclear tests in North Korea to avoid worldwide sanctions. North Korea is very good testing ground.
And pave way for other nations to start testing?
Its best that China utilize simulation backed by supercomputers to improve the nuclear weapons. I read (in this thread itself) that China had got access to US nuclear weapon designs and configuration.

North Korea is indeed a good testing ground. China may utilize it and that depends on how good China's deception skills are.
 

Sleepyjam

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How credible?

Also, the 150kt yield warhead seem to be a bit underpowered against North American cities (counter-value attacks, God forbid), which are usually spread out with powerful decision-makers usually living in their suburban mansions (away from the downtown ground zeros).
The blast radius doesn’t not scale linearly with yield.

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“This relation arises from the fact that the destructive power of a bomb does not vary linearly with the yield. The volume the weapon's energy spreads into varies as the cube of the distance, but the destroyed area varies at the square of the distance.

Thus 1 bomb with a yield of 1 megaton would destroy 80 square miles. While 8 bombs, each with a yield of 125 kilotons, would destroy 160 square miles. This relationship is one reason for the development of delivery systems that could carry multiple warheads (MIRVs).”
 

Sleepyjam

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China badly needs a new nuclear test. Their older design is not enough. The yield is low and very heavy. In my opinion, China should secretly do nuclear tests in North Korea to avoid worldwide sanctions. North Korea is very good testing ground.
120kg/150kt 575 is definitely an advanced design
 
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