ANALYSIS: Tactical nukes

Vladimir Putin has waged war on Ukraine.

He is adamant about reuniting the former Soviet country with the motherland, probably because Ukraine wants to align itself with Western countries and is interested in joining NATO.

So, here we are, so many months later, with NATO members supporting Ukraine by invoking Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty that establishes the principle of collective defense among NATO members, which means that an attack on one is an attack on all. The treaty was signed in April 1949 and implemented by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

NATO countries heavily support Ukraine’s military by sending offensive and defensive weapons and other military equipment to fight the war. Modern artillery systems pulverize Putin’s army from a distance while tanks and infantry push his front lines. Air defense warning systems provide comprehensive area radar coverage and permit the detection and interception of incoming airborne threats.

Unmanned drones of various designs lead the way to the Russian front lines and beyond. Drones surveil specific areas to provide real-time information for tactical unit commanders to view military emplacements and troop movements on land and ships at sea. Drones can also be used as offensive weapons to attack strategic targets with bombs or rockets.

Putin’s recent rhetoric suggests he is considering using tactical nuclear weapons to help win his war with Ukraine. According to a recent article in USA Today, Putin said that “Moscow will suspend its participation in the 2010 START treaty.” The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads in the USA and Russia and allows each country to inspect the other’s nuclear sites 18 times a year.

Tactical nukes are designed to be deployed for a rapid and decisive victory on the battlefield. These nonstrategic nuclear weapons have a lower explosive yield than strategic nuclear weapons, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and have never been used. Tactical nuclear warheads are in military arsenals in the USA and Russia.

The yield of a nuclear weapon is usually expressed as a TNT (Trinitrotoluene) equivalent. The lowest yield in the U.S. stockpile is the B61-3, a 0.3-kiloton bomb. Other warheads range from 5 to 455 kilotons of TNT. The Trident W76-2 missile launched from a submarine has a blast power of 7 kilotons. For comparison, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima yielded 15 kilotons, and 21 for the bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

Nuclear warheads can replace conventional warheads and be fired from aircraft, ships and cruise missiles. Artillery shells, bombs and short-range missiles can be used for delivery. These weapons are designed to target enemy positions away from the war's front to disrupt operations of enemy war-fighting capability.

Although Putin has not said he will use those weapons, a threat of this nature is taken seriously, and an appropriate response plan is necessary. The theme of “mutually assured destruction” comes to mind.

Nuclear disarmament, or denuclearization, has been discussed since the beginning of the “Atomic Age,” which started when the U.S. denoted the first nuclear weapon at the Trinity test site in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. The latest nuclear disarmament agreement is the U.N. Treaty on the “Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,” which entered into force on Jan. 22, 2021, and prohibits using and producing nuclear weapons by nations that signed the agreement.

According to information on the U.N. website, 197 U.N. member states have signed it, but no nuclear-armed nations support it. Japan, Australia and many non-nuclear members of NATO do not support the treaty because they depend on U.S. nuclear weapons to enhance their security.

Let’s hope that Putin keeps his finger off of the trigger.

Jack Evensizer resides in Dalton Gardens and is a veteran of the U.S. Army Infantry.