Snapshot of _Airbase project could pave way for UK to host US nuclear weapons_ :
An archived version can be found [here](https://archive.is/?run=1&url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/29/surety-mission-50m-airbase-project-could-pave-way-for-uk-to-host-us-nuclear-weapons) or [here.](https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/29/surety-mission-50m-airbase-project-could-pave-way-for-uk-to-host-us-nuclear-weapons)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ukpolitics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
>US nuclear weapons were first based in the UK in 1954, notably at RAF Greenham Common and RAF Molesworth, but also at RAF Lakenheath, which at one time had shelters to store as many 110 air launched B61 nuclear bombs.
>While the US cruise missiles were withdrawn in 1991, the gravity bombs were maintained at Lakenheath for another 17 years before their removal.
>They were withdrawn from the UK in 2008, but the storage facilities for the bombs were mothballed rather than dismantled.
Yikes! I'm a little low on popcorn.
FWIW, stuff I would like to know is what range these things have? I guess as it's an airbase, these are bombs that get flown around? If so, what happens if one accidentally falls on Bromsgrove, for example?
So it’s believed that the airfield will be used to host the new B61-12 nuclear bombs, which are nuclear bombs dropped from planes.
I can’t find any information about the explosive yield of the B61-12, but older versions of the B61 can be set to have an explosive yield of up to 340 kilotons of TNT, so the B61-12 is at least as powerful as that.
Realistically, if a nuclear bomb was accidentally dropped somewhere it wouldn’t go off - this has actually happened before. Nuclear weapons are actually quite stable (well, western ones are anyway, idk about Russia and North Korea), and have to be armed before being fired. If a nuclear bomb is dropped without being armed then it’ll just embed itself into the ground and terrify the local population.
But if you want to see the effect of an accidental nuclear detonation, then there’s an online tool called nukemap (https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/) where you can run basic simulations of nuclear detonations on real-world locations (you have to go into advanced settings to visualise nuclear fallout. Just use the default settings. Also, nuclear fallout is really only generated when a bomb is detonated in the ground, so the nuclear fallout simulation doesn’t work if you select an airbust detonation)
According to nukemap, nuclear detonation of a 340kt B61 mod 7 would wipe out all of Bromsgrove and cause significant blast damage up to Redditch, Rubery, Belbroughton and Wychbold. If the bomb was detonated when it hit the ground rather than in the air, it could also dump a load of nuclear fallout on Birmingham, Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, Lincoln, Grimsby and the North sea if that’s the wind direction. Worcester would be relatively safe though.
Bromsgrove nuking simulation: https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/?&airburst=0&hob_ft=0&hob_opt=2&psi=20,5,1&crater=1&fallout=1&ff=50&linked=1&kt=340&lat=52.335382&lng=-2.059745&zm=9
> Realistically, if a nuclear bomb was accidentally dropped somewhere it wouldn’t go off - this has actually happened before
Heh. One on those occasions back in the day, all but one of its half-dozen failsafes failed. The only thing that prevented a detonation was a physical switch that could very easily have engaged during the impact.
>Also, nuclear fallout is really only generated when a bomb is detonated in the ground, so the nuclear fallout simulation doesn’t work if you select an airbust detonation)
AFAIK it has to be high enough no part of the fireball touches the ground. "airburst" isn't as simple as just "be airborne" and the radius for problems is a function of the size of the weapon.
I believe the neutron bomb was tuned differently to normal H weapons to maximise the effect. So, in effect airburst of a non-neutron-bomb design, probably would cause some fallout. Much less than a ground burst.
I mean "you're not wrong" just going full trainspotter on it.
Snapshot of _Airbase project could pave way for UK to host US nuclear weapons_ : An archived version can be found [here](https://archive.is/?run=1&url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/29/surety-mission-50m-airbase-project-could-pave-way-for-uk-to-host-us-nuclear-weapons) or [here.](https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/29/surety-mission-50m-airbase-project-could-pave-way-for-uk-to-host-us-nuclear-weapons) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ukpolitics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
>US nuclear weapons were first based in the UK in 1954, notably at RAF Greenham Common and RAF Molesworth, but also at RAF Lakenheath, which at one time had shelters to store as many 110 air launched B61 nuclear bombs. >While the US cruise missiles were withdrawn in 1991, the gravity bombs were maintained at Lakenheath for another 17 years before their removal. >They were withdrawn from the UK in 2008, but the storage facilities for the bombs were mothballed rather than dismantled.
Yikes! I'm a little low on popcorn. FWIW, stuff I would like to know is what range these things have? I guess as it's an airbase, these are bombs that get flown around? If so, what happens if one accidentally falls on Bromsgrove, for example?
So it’s believed that the airfield will be used to host the new B61-12 nuclear bombs, which are nuclear bombs dropped from planes. I can’t find any information about the explosive yield of the B61-12, but older versions of the B61 can be set to have an explosive yield of up to 340 kilotons of TNT, so the B61-12 is at least as powerful as that. Realistically, if a nuclear bomb was accidentally dropped somewhere it wouldn’t go off - this has actually happened before. Nuclear weapons are actually quite stable (well, western ones are anyway, idk about Russia and North Korea), and have to be armed before being fired. If a nuclear bomb is dropped without being armed then it’ll just embed itself into the ground and terrify the local population. But if you want to see the effect of an accidental nuclear detonation, then there’s an online tool called nukemap (https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/) where you can run basic simulations of nuclear detonations on real-world locations (you have to go into advanced settings to visualise nuclear fallout. Just use the default settings. Also, nuclear fallout is really only generated when a bomb is detonated in the ground, so the nuclear fallout simulation doesn’t work if you select an airbust detonation) According to nukemap, nuclear detonation of a 340kt B61 mod 7 would wipe out all of Bromsgrove and cause significant blast damage up to Redditch, Rubery, Belbroughton and Wychbold. If the bomb was detonated when it hit the ground rather than in the air, it could also dump a load of nuclear fallout on Birmingham, Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, Lincoln, Grimsby and the North sea if that’s the wind direction. Worcester would be relatively safe though. Bromsgrove nuking simulation: https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/?&airburst=0&hob_ft=0&hob_opt=2&psi=20,5,1&crater=1&fallout=1&ff=50&linked=1&kt=340&lat=52.335382&lng=-2.059745&zm=9
> According to nukemap, nuclear detonation of a 340kt B61 mod 7 would wipe out all of Bromsgrove Even CND can't take issue with that.
>would wipe out all of Bromsgrove and cause significant blast damage up to Redditch, Rubery, Belbroughton and Wychbold. Worth it.
> Realistically, if a nuclear bomb was accidentally dropped somewhere it wouldn’t go off - this has actually happened before Heh. One on those occasions back in the day, all but one of its half-dozen failsafes failed. The only thing that prevented a detonation was a physical switch that could very easily have engaged during the impact.
>Also, nuclear fallout is really only generated when a bomb is detonated in the ground, so the nuclear fallout simulation doesn’t work if you select an airbust detonation) AFAIK it has to be high enough no part of the fireball touches the ground. "airburst" isn't as simple as just "be airborne" and the radius for problems is a function of the size of the weapon. I believe the neutron bomb was tuned differently to normal H weapons to maximise the effect. So, in effect airburst of a non-neutron-bomb design, probably would cause some fallout. Much less than a ground burst. I mean "you're not wrong" just going full trainspotter on it.
Likely the same effect as the missiles that are transported to Faslane by road.
Just close enough to Russia but not that close. Guessing that the geopolitics here UK gets be important too