Tactical Nuclear Weapons and NATO.pdf - Program on Strategic ...

tion; namely, they are all the other nuclear weapons
that are not strategic. Beyond that, there are no limits
on their yield—less than a kiloton, or in the range of
a few kilotons but not excluding weapons of larger
yields with specific tactical or operational targets. Nor
are these limits on their means of delivery—shortrange
ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, gravity bombs,
mines, depth charges, torpedoes, air defense weapons,
<strong>and</strong> artillery rounds.
In 1998, Voprosybezopasnosti published an extensive
article on the quantitative <strong>and</strong> qualitative characteristics
of Russian TNWs. The article addressed the
nomenclature of tactical nuclear systems, their general
number, the actions taken to execute the unilateral reductions
announced in 1991, the distribution of TNWs
by type (ballistic missiles, cruise missiles of various
types, nuclear mines/explosives, nuclear artillery,
nuclear bombs, torpedoes, <strong>and</strong> warheads for missile
defense systems). TNWs are divided into those kept
on combat alert <strong>and</strong> those kept in storage. They can
also be classified by the branch of service that controls
them. This includes speculation about “nuclear suitcases”
under the control of spetsnaz units belonging
to the Russian secret police (KGB) <strong>and</strong>/or the Russian
special forces (GRU). As to exact numbers of Russian
TNWs, the article discussed only external speculations
by U.S. Department of Defense <strong>and</strong> Green Peace,
claiming a rough minimum <strong>and</strong> maximum number of
3,100 to 10,000. No official numbers were released by
the Ministry of Defense on the size of its arsenal. The
article concluded with a lengthy discussion of comm<strong>and</strong>
<strong>and</strong> control of tactical nuclear weapons in terms
of preventing unsanctioned launch <strong>and</strong> positive control
to guarantee that warheads <strong>and</strong> delivery systems
could be brought together rapidly for employment in
a warning period before the outbreak of conflict. 22
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