Nuclear Artillery

Nuclear artillery is a subset of limited-yield tactical nuclear weapons, in particular those weapons that are launched from the ground at battlefield targets. Nuclear artillery is commonly associated with shells delivered by a cannon, but in a technical sense short-range rockets or missiles are also included.

The development of nuclear artillery was part of a broad push by nuclear weapons countries to develop nuclear weapons which could be used tactically against enemy armies in the field (as opposed to strategic uses against cities, military bases, and heavy industry). Nuclear artillery was both developed and deployed by a small group of nations, including the USA, USSR, and France. The United Kingdom planned and partially developed such weapon systems (the Blue water missile and the Yellow Anvil artillery shell) but did not put these systems into production.

A second group of nations has derivative association with nuclear artillery. These nations fielded artillery units trained and equipped to use nuclear weapons, but did not control the devices themselves. Instead, the devices were held by embedded custodial units of developing countries. These custodial units retained control of the nuclear weapons until they were released for use in a crisis. This second group has included such NATO countries as Belgium, West Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

Nowadays, nuclear artillery has almost been replaced with mobile tactical ballistic missile launchers carrying missiles with nuclear warheads. However, some countries, such as China, India and Pakistan, are still using nuclear artillery as an alternative method derived from conventional ballistic missiles.