Tests of Live Warheads On Rockets
Missiles and nuclear warheads have usually been tested separately, because testing them together is considered highly dangerous (they are the most extreme type of live fire exercise). The only US live test of an operational missile was the following:
- Frigate Bird — on May 6, 1962, a UGM-27 Polaris A-2 missile with a live 600 kt W47 warhead was launched from the USS Ethan Allen; it flew 1900 km, re-entered the atmosphere, and detonated at an altitude of 3.4 km over the South Pacific. The test was part of Operation Dominic I. Planned as a method to dispel doubts about whether the USA's nuclear missiles would actually function in practice, it had less effect than was hoped, as the stockpile warhead was substantially modified prior to testing, and the missile tested was a relatively low-flying SLBM and not a high-flying ICBM.
Other live tests with the nuclear explosive delivered by rocket by the USA include:
- On August 1, 1958, Redstone rocket #CC50 launched nuclear test Teak that detonated at an altitude of 77.8-km. On August 12, 1958, Redstone #CC51 launched nuclear test Orange to a detonation altitude of 43 km. Both were part of Operation Hardtack I and had a yield of 3.75 Mt
- Operation Argus — three tests, August 27, August 30, and September 6, 1958
- On July 9, 1962, Thor missile 195 launched a Mk4 reentry vehicle containing a W49 thermonuclear warhead to an altitude of 248 miles (400 km). The warhead detonated with a yield of 1.45 Mt. This was the Starfish Prime event of nuclear test operation Dominic-Fishbowl
- In the Dominic-Fishbowl series in 1962: Checkmate, Bluegill, Kingfish, and Tightrope
The Soviet Union tested a number of nuclear explosives on rockets as part of their development of a localised anti-ballistic missile system in the 1960s. Some of the Soviet nuclear tests with warheads delivered by rocket include:
- Operation Baikal (February 2, 1956, at Aralsk) - one test, with a R-5M rocket launch from Kapustin Yar.
- Operation ZUR-215 (January 19, 1957, at Kapustin Yar) - one test, with a rocket launch from Kapustin Yar.
- Operation Groza (September 6, 1961, at Kapustin Yar) - one test, with a rocket launch from Kapustin Yar.
- Operation Grom (October 6, 1961, at Kapustin Yar) - one test, with a rocket launch from Kapustin Yar.
- Operation Volga (September, 1961, at Novaya Zemlya) - two tests, with R-11M rockets launch from Rogachevo.
- Operation Roza (September, 1961, at Novaya Zemlya) - two tests, with R-12 rockets launch from Vorkuta.
- Raduga (October 20, 1961, at Novaya Zemlya) - one test, with a R-13 rocket launch.
- Operation Tyulpan (September, 1962, at Novaya Zemlya) - probably two tests, with R-14 rockets launch from Chita.
- Operation K (1961 and 1962, at Sary-Shagan) - five tests, with rockets launch from Kapustin Yar.
The People's Republic of China conducted a test with a Dongfeng-2 rocket launch in October 27, 1966. The warhead exploded with a yield of 12 kt.
Read more about this topic: List Of Nuclear Weapons Tests
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