The Return of Battlefield Nuclear Weapons

The article “The Return of Battlefield Nuclear Weapons” on Global Security Review discusses the re-emergence of low-yield, tactical nuclear weapons in modern warfare, particularly in the context of Russia’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine and the potential for U.S. involvement with China over Taiwan.

Discussion points:

• Russia’s strategy of “escalate to deescalate” involves the potential use of low-yield nuclear weapons to force a swift resolution in conflicts, as seen in its war with Ukraine.
• Unlike the conventional view of nuclear weapons leading to total destruction, tactical nuclear weapons are designed for battlefield use, causing limited fallout and damage in a localized area.
• Russia’s vast stockpile of 2,000 to 6,000 of these weapons creates a significant gap between its capabilities and NATO’s, which lacks a comparable, ready-to-use response.
• The article suggests that the U.S. must modernize its nuclear deterrence strategy and retrain military forces to operate in post-nuclear detonation environments, highlighting the growing relevance of non-strategic nuclear arms in 21st-century warfare.
  

This underscores the urgency for NATO and the U.S. to reassess their deterrence strategies to avoid being caught off-guard by a potential nuclear escalation in regional conflicts.

For more details, you can read the full article here. We want to hear your comments!