Pakistan rapidly expanding nuke arsenal

huaxia rox

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'Pak rapidly developing nuke arsenal'



Washington: Estimated to have more nuclear weapons than India, Pakistan is rapidly developing and expanding its atomic arsenal, spending about $ 2.5 billion a year to develop such weapons, a report has said.

"Pakistan has been rapidly developing and expanding its nuclear arsenal, increasing its capacity to produce plutonium, and testing and deploying a diverse array of nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles," said the report Assuring Destruction Forever: Nuclear Modernisation Around The World.

"Pakistan is moving from an arsenal based wholly on HEU to greater reliance on lighter and more compact plutonium-based weapons, which is made possible by a rapid expansion in plutonium production capacity," said the 150-page report by Reaching Critical Will of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

"Pakistan is also moving from aircraft-delivered nuclear bombs to nuclear-armed ballistic and cruise missiles and from liquid-fueled to solid-fueled medium-range missile. Pakistan also has a growing nuclear weapons research, development, and production infrastructure," it said.

According to the report Pakistan is estimated to have 90-110 nuclear weapons. "A long-term concern now driving Pakistan's nuclear programme is the US policy of countering the rise of China by cultivating a stronger strategic relationship with India. This may tie the future of Pakistan and India's nuclear weapons to the emerging contest between the United States and China," said the report.

Pakistan has a number of short-range, medium, and longer-range road-mobile ballistic surface-to-surface missiles in various stages of development.

"It has developed a second generation of ballistic missile systems over the past five years. It is estimated that Pakistan could have a stockpile of 2750 kg of weapon-grade HEU and may be producing about 150 kg of HEU per year," it said.

Estimates suggest Pakistan has produced a total of about 140 kg of plutonium, the report said.

While not much information is available on the funding of Pakistan's nuclear weapons project, the report said estimates indicate that Pakistan spends about $ 2.5 billion a year on nuclear weapons. Despite extensive foreign military assistance, Pakistan's effort to sustain its conventional and nuclear military programmes has come at increasingly great cost to the effort to meet basic human needs and improve living standards, the report said.

India the report said is estimated to have 80–100 nuclear warheads. "It is also developing a range of delivery vehicles, including land- and sea-based missiles, bombers, and submarines," it said.


"While nuclear weapons used to be seen as a 'necessary evil', there is no more enthusiasm for India to become a bonafide nuclear weapon power that can exercise its military might in the region," it said.
 

W.G.Ewald

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"A long-term concern now driving Pakistan's nuclear programme is the US policy of countering the rise of China by cultivating a stronger strategic relationship with India. This may tie the future of Pakistan and India's nuclear weapons to the emerging contest between the United States and China," said the report.
Is it in fact a true statement vis a vis US policy? From what I read here on DFI, I am not so sure. Also, I am not familiar with ZEENEWS as a source.
 

Yusuf

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Ewald, it is true that India and US are coming closer and it suits both of us vis a vis china. US needs a counter, and India needs back up. It's a matter of two people having a common enemy, coming together.

Don't go by some members of DFI who are anti US. Someone like me who is pro US and others will tell you that India should and is getting strategically closer to the US. But yes there will be differences too as India will not "blindly toe" the US line something which the US is used to in it's "friendship" with others over the years. But since times are changing, the US will realize that it will pay to give India it's space and still be food friends or allies in the future.
 
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How accurate is this when Pakistan has little fissile material? Unless of course china is
Violating the NPT,FMCT?
 

Yusuf

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How accurate is this when Pakistan has little fissile material? Unless of course china is
Violating the NPT,FMCT?
FMCT is not in place. Pakis have ramped up both there uranium production as well as plutonium. The plutonium route indicates another proliferation from china a far as design goes as pakis have not tested a plutonium bomb. Pu warheads are lighter and require less fissile material.

The pakis have been ramping up production at Khushab, Chashma the new plant.
 
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If Pakistan has 100 nukes and China has 200 it should give us a good reason to
Have atleast 300 nukes. 100 small ones for pak and 200 larger MIRV'D nukes for
China.
 

Yusuf

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If Pakistan has 100 nukes and China has 200 it should give us a good reason to
Have atleast 300 nukes. 100 small ones for pak and 200 larger MIRV'D nukes for
China.
India is not in an overdrive to make nukes. I think the long term aim is to stabilize the arsenal at 200-250. I don't think india will make different types of warheads. All of them have to be thermonuclear ones except for the earlier ones which were fission devices.
 
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India is not in an overdrive to make nukes. I think the long term aim is to stabilize the arsenal at 200-250. I don't think india will make different types of warheads. All of them have to be thermonuclear ones except for the earlier ones which were fission devices.

2 more things are needed :
Longer range missiles
MIRV with preferably 10 warheads

We have fissile material for thousands of warheads might as well make a few
Hundred and point them east and west.
 

Yusuf

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2 more things are needed :
Longer range missiles
MIRV with preferably 10 warheads

We have fissile material for thousands of warheads might as well make a few
Hundred and point them east and west.
That is why we are not worried. We have enough fissile material that can be weaponised really quickly. We need delivery systems. Pakistan may be ramping up its warhead production, it should have the delivery systems to match that number.
 

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