why won’t there be a nuclear explosion if a nuclear weapon is shot down?

Question

why won’t there be a nuclear explosion if a nuclear weapon is shot down?

In: 4

Answer 1

A nuclear weapon is extremely difficult to detonate. The technology behind how to reliably initiate the cascade reaction that sets off a nuclear explosion is one of the biggest reasons why nuclear weapons are so hard to make.

Destroying a nuclear weapon before it can be triggered would make that complicated and extremely specific process impossible.