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India has 2600 Nuclear warheads- Harvard university

I think india needs to conduct tests of bombs with yield > 5 megatons to counter china.

Thats a waste of yield. Better to deploy as 100 - 200 kt warheads and MIRV it.

BTW let me cross post what I posted on another forum:

tYqSNZG.jpg


Theoretically, yes if India went all out and scavenged every Pu atom it had in its reactors, it could (potentially - read further for why) make 2000+ nuclear warheads with the material.

The problem with that is mentioned in the assumption: reprocessing of the Reactor Grade Pu. Reactor Grade Pu like how banana over-ripens over time has been contaminated with Pu-240.

Basically weapons grade Pu (i.e near pure Pu-239), you need to "pluck" early while there is very low Pu-240 contamination. Why Pu-240 is produced and is sub-optimal (for nukes) is another long subject (lets say it is very unstable under impulse pressure applied to implosion - also reason why you cannot economically make a gun design for Pu nuke).

If you want to turn over-ripe banana back to perfectly ripe banana....well you need some fancy separation procedure (standard chemical reprocessing using oxides and other fancy anion introduction in chemically distinct parents.... is not relevant here) which I believe makes the whole thing unfeasible and very expensive (would need a calutron based process - which in itself is very research intensive).

Best to just eat the over-ripe banana (i.e design and test a RG Pu warhead) and make do with its inherent problems...it can be done, the US apparently did so in a 1962 test with reactor grade plutonium from the UK.

India I believe in one of the tests in pokhran II did test a linear implosion device that was supposed to be used with reactor grade (or fuel grade which is "better" quality reactor grade) Pu. So the figure regarding "RG Pu separated" could very well be referring to fuel grade Pu which India could use in nuclear devices. I personally would not treat the "RG Pu un-separated" as usable for nuclear devices ...because that definitely would be Reactor grade (more than 19% contamination of Pu-240) and would entail much cost (unless India indeed has a fully validated Reactor Grade Pu design and India is willing to accept the operational/manufacturing drawbacks of such devices compared to producing more WG)

So I would say overall India has somewhere between 100 - 200 nuclear warheads "proven" and "ready-to use"....and possibly another 500+ it could potentially assemble at short notice provided the material falls in the Pu 240 range tested for in Pokhan II (in the experimental device) and provided that device design was validated in that test (and it helps a lot if its open to further scaling/simulation etc).

The further 1000+ warheads from fully reactor grade "unseparated" Pu has potential as well, but we simply have little firm evidence to go by on their end-deployed potential esp in manufacturing and storage (past the different weapon design needed and assumed validated)....even less than the separated Pu (given the Pu-240 contamination levels of each.... assuming this separation was done so to achieve a better ratio in line with Shakti-III design)

This all would of course be highly classified in reality (these are just my best guesses regarding what this report is conveying). Hence why most people prefer to quote the 100 - 200 range for proven nuclear warheads for India (and probably a large portion of them mated to fusion secondaries to produce about 200 kt each).

Thus India should not be too worried about the prevalence of the 100 - 200 figure (probably does not challenge it on purpose), its best to have everyone stick to the lowest estimate possible. Underestimation by others always works best for oneself in the long run.

Sources worth reading that go into more depth about the issues I am talking about:

Using Pu 240 contaminated fuel for making nukes:

http://www.ccnr.org/plute.html

Types of Pu and how they arise:

http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/fuel-recycling/plutonium.aspx
 
Kyun baar baar hasa rahai ho??? Lagta hai champions trophy ki zabardast haar sir parh charh gayi hai lol
 
By not being in the NSG club, India's quest for buying military grade nuclear technology is hampered. India is not an advanced country, it can only do so much with its current tardy pace in the nuclear arms development on its own.

But India has no option, as long as the China has the last word on this. It is in the interest of China to keep India out & deny it access to various military grade nuclear technologies, which is possible if India joined this cartel.

On the other hand, it is in India's interest to keep persuading China and find a middle ground, instead of saber rattling a la two front war which involves China. This is absurd.
 
So a Pakistani publishes this to malign India right before NSG session.. Is anyone expecting anything different here?

About the Author Mansoor Ahmed is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the International Security Program and Project on Managing the Atom at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center where he was a Stanton Nuclear Security Junior Faculty Fellow during 2015-2016. His research interests include various aspects of Pakistani and Indian nuclear programs, policies, and postures, including fissile materials, non-proliferation and strategic stability issues with special reference to South Asia. Prior to coming to the Belfer Center, he was a Visiting Research Scholar at the Cooperative Monitoring Center, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, in 2013 and a Lecturer in the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies at Quaid-i-Azam University (2011-2015). He has been regularly engaged in different Track-II dialogues, initiatives and simulation exercises on arms control and nuclear issues in South Asia. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. Acknowledgments The author would like to thank Professor Matthew Bunn, Dr. Martin Malin, and Nickolas Roth for their useful comments and feedback on various drafts of this paper. The author is grateful to Bobby Kim and Gabrielle LeDoux for their help with editing, as well Casey Campbell for her work on the paper’s design and layout. The Project on Managing the Atom thanks the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs for support during the publication of this discussion paper.

India’s Nuclear Exceptionalism

| May 2017
Summary


In this Project on Managing the Atom Discussion Paper, Mansoor Ahmed examines India’s fissile material production capacity and the military potential of its unsafeguarded nuclear fuel cycle and energy program. The paper details India’s existing nuclear arsenal and its potential for expansion, with a focus on three key areas, namely:

  • The principles governing the separation of India’s civil and military fuel cycle facilities;

  • The size and weapons potential of India’s existing unsafeguarded stocks of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium and plutonium as well as its unsafeguarded stockpile of reactor-grade plutonium (maintained as a “strategic reserve” and as fuel for India’s fast breeder program); and

  • The fissile material production capacity of its reactor fleet, its existing and planned reprocessing facilities, and growing uranium enrichment program.
The paper suggests that India’s existing and future nuclear capability fuels regional security anxieties with Pakistan and impedes progress on the early conclusion of a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. Dr. Ahmed offers policy recommendations for managing the South Asian fissile material conundrum and calls for a transparent and verifiable separation of civil and military fuel cycle and reactor programs in India and beyond.
For more information on this publication: Please contact the Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation: Ahmed, Mansoor. “India’s Nuclear Exceptionalism.” Discussion Paper, Managing the Atom Project, Belfer Center, May 2017.
The Author
Mansoor%20Ahmed.jpg



Mansoor Ahmed
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow, International Security Program/Project on Managing the Atom
Expertise:




https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/indias-nuclear-exceptionalism


https://www.belfercenter.org/sites/default/files/files/publication/India's Nuclear Exceptionalism.pdf

and she is my Wife , we have 10 kids... Mashallah bolo sub
emma_0.jpg

Who is she? Some CEO or Billionaire?
 
I think india needs to conduct tests of bombs with yield > 5 megatons to counter china.

At least change your flags.

China and Pakistan has a very big reason to worry. It is not because India is inching close to enter the NSG but because of its nuclear power. The report of Project Alpha released by King’s College London said that India’s present strategic trade will help it in increasing its power in nuclear weapons. They also said that India has secretly moved ahead of United Kingdom and France in the possession of arms and soon may dominate them in major international border issues.
A report named ‘Indian Nuclear Exceptionalism’ by the Harvard University Belfer Centre mentions that India has a fissile stock worth 2600 nuclear warheads. They also added that presently India is in the third position; Russia and United States are ahead of India. Previous year 4 Pakistani scholars had predicted India of having around 500 warheads.
http://postcard.news/india-2600-nuc...ard-university-china-pakistan-shocked-report/

LOL why should China and Pakistan be shocked? According to the Indians on this forum Pakistan and China aren't even allies who will help each other when the Americans attack them LOL

As for the fake news. LOL at 2600 nuke warheads. These Indians can't get rid of mass poverty, but think they are superpowers of nuke warheads. Only a fool would believe "postcard" news.
 
Whether it has the fissile material, warhead or nothing, Pakistan needs to ramp up its production since we have an eight times bigger enemy and we should have the ability to do a complete owning of the enemy in case of a war which is imminent if Modi continues.

:D till now I thought starlord was a girl mehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

sorry
Exactly...you're not alone..I thought so too :lol:

and she is my Wife , we have 10 kids... Mashallah bolo sub
emma_0.jpg
Congratulations. May Allah bless your family. Raise your kids with good care and make them good human beings.
 
So do we have 2000 missiles and 600 aircrafts capable of dropping our 2600 odd Nuclear weapons? Too bad we havent tested MIRV yet to reduce the no of missiles :(
 
Megaton warheads are fancy:D they are like nazi 400 mm railguns:-)
You know what is most fancy? Death Star !
Thats a waste of yield. Better to deploy as 100 - 200 kt warheads and MIRV it.
Unfortunarely we can't. What we have functional is perhaps a Joe-4 type weapon. This will be a 800 KG - 1 tonne war head deployable by missile or air with a yield of 100-200 kilotonne.

You know what is still the most interesting part? I do not know why is India even pursuing SLBM option. We do not have a tested design for a Super-grade Plutonium or HEU based bomb. WG or RG bombs do not o well in SLBM.
 
China and Pakistan has a very big reason to worry. It is not because India is inching close to enter the NSG but because of its nuclear power. The report of Project Alpha released by King’s College London said that India’s present strategic trade will help it in increasing its power in nuclear weapons. They also said that India has secretly moved ahead of United Kingdom and France in the possession of arms and soon may dominate them in major international border issues.
A report named ‘Indian Nuclear Exceptionalism’ by the Harvard University Belfer Centre mentions that India has a fissile stock worth 2600 nuclear warheads. They also added that presently India is in the third position; Russia and United States are ahead of India. Previous year 4 Pakistani scholars had predicted India of having around 500 warheads.
http://postcard.news/india-2600-nuc...ard-university-china-pakistan-shocked-report/


Someone please explain to me how does the world's top Business and Law schools knows about India's Nukes and their numbers? :hitwall: . Man, their is some common sense and realty that should exist in common sense and paid articles. In India's case, the fake "super being" scenario never stops sadly! Tired of reading these low quality crap every other day.
 
Someone please explain to me how does the world's top Business and Law schools knows about India's Nukes and their numbers? :hitwall: . Man, their is some common sense and realty that should exist in common sense and paid articles. In India's case, the fake "super being" scenario never stops sadly! Tired of reading these low quality crap every other day.
It is called making an educated guess. Just like no one knows your real IQ but they can make an educated guess by reading what you have written or how you react or how you comprehend the facts in front of you.
 
It is called making an educated guess. Just like no one knows your real IQ but they can make an educated guess by reading what you have written or how you react or how you comprehend the facts in front of you.

How old are you 12? IQ and Nukes? and Educated guess? What's next? Estimates of Indian Military's power and then their comparison to how many of them eat pop-corn? Do you see how my statement sounds? Your posts sounds like that, disconnected with reality and super weird.

Harvard is a Business and Law school. Their is no need for an "educated guess" as there is no research operation of any kind they do there. This is an Indian paid article.

You are saying that Harvard's educated guess is above the US government's "actual knowledge" that they publish to the congress putting India between 90 to 110 nukes? :rofl:. Please don't respond to my post. I am having pain in my tummy by laughing at your weird post. Why does such crap makes it into a thread on this forum!
 

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