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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A lot of people have covered the reasons not to use tactical nuclear weapons.
But I’m going to focus on your statement that the MOAB has “the same explosive power of a small tactical nuke.” That’s true if you compare it to the smallest nuclear warhead to enter service, the M-388, which was fired by the “Davy Crockett” recoilless rifle. Its lowest yield setting was equivalent to 10 tons of TNT. The GBU-43 “MOAB” has a warhead of about 18,700lb of Composition H-6 high explosive, which is equivalent to about 11 tons of TNT.
However, the Davy Crockett was withdrawn from service in the early 1970s.
The primary US tactical nuclear bomb today is the B61, which has a variable yield that allows it to be used as either a tactical or strategic bomb. Its lowest setting is 0.3 kilotons (300 tons), or about 27 times more powerful than the MOAB.
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