there are giant bombs like MOAB with the same explosive power of a small tactical nuke. Why don’t they just use the small nuke?

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there are giant bombs like MOAB with the same explosive power of a small tactical nuke. Why don’t they just use the small nuke?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

There is a (over) dramatic stigma around the use of nuclear weapons for an absolutely necessary reason of shaming people out of accidentally sending the strategic warheads flying.

That and a tactical nuclear weapon doesn’t have the same explosion characteristics as the MOAB. Total energy yield is just one property. There is also a question of ground penetration which the tactical nuclear weapons are less effective at than the delayed fuse, much heavier moab bombs. There are some limitations around the types of energy released in each, but engineering could probably make a tactical nuke close enough to a moab to be used interchangeably in many cases.

But with the additional stigma and financial cost of using a nuclear device, why would you go that route?

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