Deadliest Nuclear Missiles

via ilqarqurbanov.wordpress.com

On August 6th, 1945 the first nuclear weapon was detonated over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, the city of Nagasaki was subjected to the second, and currently last, nuclear attack in human history. The bombings are credited with helping to bring an end to the war with Japan and preventing the further loss of millions of lives.  Combined, the two bombs killed approximately 240,000 people and ushered in a new era – the nuclear age.

From 1945 until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the world endured the Cold War and the constant specter of a possible nuclear exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union. During this time, both sides built thousands of nuclear weapons which ranged from small bombs and cruise missiles to massive Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) and Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM). Britain, France and China added to this stockpile of weaponry with their own nuclear arsenals.

Today, the fear of nuclear annihilation is considerably less than it was in the 1970s or 1980s, yet several nations still possess a large arsenal of these destructive weapons. Furthermore, despite treaties aimed at limiting the number of weapons a nation can possess, nuclear powers continue to develop and improve their stockpiles and delivery methods. A resurgence in anti-ballistic missile development has caused some nations to step up development of new and more effective ICBMs and SLBMs. This has created a fear that a new arms race could open up between the world superpowers as each tries to produce technologies superior to the others.

The following list looks at ten of the most destructive or ‘effective’ nuclear missile systems currently in service in the world. Accuracy, range, number of warheads, warhead power and mobility are factors which make these systems so destructive and dangerous. This list is presented in no particular order because these nuclear missiles don’t always share the same task or objective. One missile may be developed to destroy a city while another type may be designed to destroy enemy missile silos. In addition, this list does not include missiles currently being tested or not officially deployed. Thus, missile systems like India’s Agni-V and China’s JL-2, both in stages of testing and to be officially operational this year, are not included. Israel’s Jericho III is also left out as there remains significant gaps in knowledge about the missile and doubt about whether it is an Intermediate range missile or a full ICBM.

Note: It is important to keep in mind when reading the following that the size of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs were equivalent to 16 kilotons (x1000) and 21 kilotons of TNT respectively.

10. M51 – SLBM (France)

via globalmilitaryreview.blogspot.com

Behind the United States and Russia, France deploys the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world. In addition to nuclear bombs and cruise-missiles, France relies on its SLBMs to provide its primary nuclear deterrent. Of this force, the M51 is the most modern component. The M51 entered service in 2010 and is currently installed on the Triomphant class of ballistic missile submarines. The missile has a range of around 10,000 km and is reportedly capable of carrying 6 to 10 100kt warheads per missile. The missile’s Circular-Error-Probability (CEP) is reportedly between 150 and 200 meters – meaning that the warhead has a 50% probability of striking within 150-200m of its target. In addition to decoys released during flight, terminal velocity is reported to be Mach 25, making any attempts to intercept incoming warheads very difficult.