Indian nuclear forces, 2012 - Bulletin of Atomic Scientists

Abstract

In April 2012, India successfully test-launched the Agni V ballistic missile—and though the missile needs more testing and is still several years away from operational deployment, the Agni V introduces a new dynamic to the already complex triangular security relationship among India, Pakistan, and China. India is estimated to have produced approximately 520 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium, sufficient for 100–130 nuclear warheads; however, not all of the material has been converted into warheads. Based on available information about its nuclear-capable delivery vehicles, the authors estimate that India has produced 80–100 nuclear warheads. In this article, the authors explore how the country will need even more warheads to arm the new missiles it is currently developing.

India’s drive to develop a nuclear triad proceeds apace, with New Delhi developing or deploying several weapon systems to realize its goal of achieving offensive nuclear forces on land, at sea, and in the air. India took a significant step forward with the successful test-launch of the Agni V ballistic missile on April 19, 2012. With a range reportedly greater than 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles), the Agni V can reach any target in China; however, the missile needs more testing and is still several years away from operational deployment. Nevertheless, the Agni V introduces a new dynamic to the already complex triangular security relationship among India, Pakistan, and China; a week after India’s April test-launch, Pakistan (somewhat predictably) responded by test-firing its nuclear-capable Shaheen-1A medium-range ballistic missile.

India is estimated to have produced approximately 520 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium (IPFM, 2011), sufficient for 100–130 nuclear warheads; however, not all of the material has been converted into warheads. Based on available information about its nuclear-capable delivery vehicles, we estimate that India has produced 80–100 nuclear warheads. It will need more warheads to arm the new missiles it is currently developing. In addition to the Dhruva plutonium production reactor near Mumbai, India plans to construct a second reactor near Visakhapatnam, on the east coast. India is building an unsafeguarded prototype fast-breeder reactor at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research near Kalpakkam (about 1,000 kilometers or 620 miles south of Visakhapatnam), which will significantly increase India’s plutonium production capacity once it becomes operational. More

 

 

Iran and the bomb - Al Jazeera

Iran halts oil exports as nuclear inspectors arrive To see more go to www.youtube.com Follow us on Facebook (goo.gl or Twitter (www.twitter.com Global diplomatic tensions are rapidly mounting around Iran's nuclear ambitions. This compelling investigation gets right to the heart of the maelstrom, interrogating facts, falsehoods and shocking allegations. "We have one million patients struggling with cancer and they need regular isotopes", argues Iran's ambassador for the IAEA, Dr Ali Soltanieh. Whatever the truth, Israel is growing increasingly twitchy. Yet Ronen Bergen, an expert on the Israeli secret service, insists that if it had been up to Israel, Iran would have had an atom bomb years ago. He describes how during the 1970s, "Israel was knowingly helping Iran to build the vehicle for a nuclear bomb". Today, Netanyahu is insisting that, "Israel must reserve the right to defend itself". As global tension mounts, Iran isn't shying away from fighting talk. The suggestion of interference in their nuclear plans is met with a chilling riposte: "We will teach them a lesson they will never forget in history". February 2012

Nuclear waste-burning reactor moves a step closer to reality

Feasibility study shows GE-Hitachi's proposed Prism fast reactor could offer a solution to the UK's plutonium waste stockpile.

A plan to burn Britain's radioactive nuclear waste as fuel in a next-generation reactor moved a step closer to reality on Monday when GE-Hitachi submitted a thousand-page feasibility report to the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

The UK has a large stockpile – around 100 tonnes – of plutonium waste. This is considered a security risk and the government is considering options for its disposal. The current "preferred option" is to convert the plutonium into mixed-oxide fuel (Mox) for use in conventional nuclear reactors.

But a previous Mox plant in the UK was deemed a failure, and GE-Hitachi claims that its Prism fast reactor – a completely different design fuelled by plutonium and cooled by liquid sodium – offers a more attractive solution.

One of the potential benefits of fast reactors is that they could extract large quantities of energy from nuclear waste. In February, David MacKay, the chief scientist at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) told the Guardian there was enough energy in the UK's waste stockpile to power the country for more than 500 years.

The NDA initially dismissed fast reactors as being decades from commercial viability. But after the Prism proposal was submitted by GE-Hitachi, the NDA agreed to review the evidence. Monday's report – a summary of which has been seen by the Guardian – is designed to persuade the NDA that the Prism is technically credible and commercially attractive.

The report includes an assessment from consultancy firm DBD Limitedthat suggests there are "no fundamental impediment(s)" to the licensing of the Prism in the UK. It also includes an outline of the proposed business plan, which would involve the plant being owned by a private company and the government paying a fee for each tonne of plutonium processed. More