tactical nuclear weapon
Battlefield atomic bomb
A tactical nuclear weapon is a nuclear warhead designed for battlefield use rather than strategic strikes on cities or industrial centers.
These weapons have lower yields and shorter ranges than strategic nuclear weapons, intended for targets like troop concentrations, military bases, or naval vessels.
The distinction matters in military doctrine and arms control: The treaty covers strategic but not tactical nuclear weapons.
Despite being "smaller," tactical nuclear weapons can still devastate wide areas and risk escalation to full-scale nuclear war.
- low yieldSmall output relative to input
- neutron bombWarhead maximizing radiation output
- atomic bombFission-triggered mass destruction device
- Fat ManImplosion-type nuclear device
- WMDCatastrophic armament category
counterforce · ballistic missile · cruise missile · first strike · H-bombs · bomb · Manhattan Project · radioactive fallout · dirty bomb · mutually assured destruction · arms race · preemptive strike · Davy Crockett · bunker buster · uranium enrichment · radioactive waste · Cold War · Cuban Missile Crisis
tactical nuclear weaponintercontinental ballistic missile
Transcontinental nuclear rocket
ICBM · thermonuclear bomb · hydrogen bomb · Tsar Bomba · thermonuclear weapon
tactical nuclear weaponpeace treaty
Formal end to hostilities
diplomatic solution · diplomacy · disarmament · denuclearization · peaceful resolution
tactical nuclear weaponconventional weapon
Non-WMD military armament
small arms · rifle · smart bomb · hand-to-hand combat · guided missile
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