Precision strike mini-nukes could change war FOR EVER – and world leaders are more likely to unleash Armageddon
US military leaders are to take delivery of new range of mini-bombs sparking fears nuclear weapons could be used on the battlefield for the very first time.
Donald Trump's administration has insisted the precision 'low-field' nukes will be a true deterrent, but others fear they might now just be "small enough"; to use.
Last year, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) revealed it had started manufacturing the weapon at its Pantex nuclear weapons plant in Texas.
It added the first of the new warheads had already come off the production line and it was on schedule to deliver the first batch before the end of September.
The new weapon - the W76-2 - is a modification of the existing Trident warhead but with a much smaller blast range.
Stephen Young, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said its yield had probably been cut be removing one stage from the original two-stage W76 thermonuclear device.
“As best we can tell, the only requirement is to replace the existing secondary, or second stage, with a dummy version, which is what they do every time they test fly a missile,” he said.
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The result would be to reduce its explosive power from 100 kilotons of TNT to around five, which is a third of the force of the Hiroshima bomb,
The Trump administration believes the mini-weapons would actually make a nuclear war much less likely.
However, others argue the US president might be tempted to press the button as unlike larger nukes the bombs would not cause untold civilian casualties.
“Especially with a president who takes pride in his unpredictability and has literally asked: ‘Why can’t we use our nuclear weapons?’,” Young said.
Hans Kristensen, the director of the nuclear information project at the Federation of American Scientists said the development risked starting an arms race with Russia involving smaller nuclear weapons.
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“To what extent does this signal a new willingness on the part of the US to start using strategic nuclear weapons in a tactical and very limited way early in a potential conflict?” he asked.
And former US defence secretary William Perry said last week he was concerned about the US and Russia openly discussing the use of nukes for the first time in a "good many years."
“That’s a very dangerous belief,” he added.
