Ending Tactical Nuclear Weapons

The report examines the history and risks of tactical nuclear weapons, arguing that their perceived utility in battlefield scenarios is outweighed by the danger of lowering the nuclear threshold and triggering unpredictable escalation. It details the rise of these weapons during the Cold War and their subsequent decline through treaties like the INF Treaty and unilateral actions such as the U.S. Presidential Nuclear Initiatives. The authors warn that current geopolitical tensions and debates over new capabilities, such as the U.S. SLCM-N, threaten to reverse this progress. The document recommends that the P5 nations and the United Nations establish pathways to freeze or reduce tactical nuclear arsenals to maintain global strategic stability.

• Tactical nuclear weapons undermine strategic deterrence by creating a lower threshold for nuclear use, as their lower yields are often incorrectly viewed as more 'acceptable' or 'controlled' despite their destructive power.
• During the early Cold War (1945–1960s), four of the five primary nuclear-armed nations deployed at least 70 different types of tactical or hybrid nuclear capabilities, including artillery shells, gravity bombs, and cruise missiles.
• The People's Republic of China historically disavowed tactical nuclear weapons and maintained a no-first-use pledge, with little evidence of tactical deployments despite potentially fielding some gravity bombs in the 1970s.
• The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was a landmark agreement that eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons, including ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.
• The U.S. Presidential Nuclear Initiatives (PNIs) of 1991-1992 led to the removal and destruction of approximately 1,000 artillery rounds and 700 Lance surface-to-surface missile warheads from Europe.
• The United Kingdom became the first nuclear-armed nation to reduce its arsenal to a single weapon system (Trident II SLBM) by 1998, resulting in a reduction of explosive power by more than 70 percent since the Cold War.
• Russia currently remains the primary possessor of a wide range of tactical nuclear weapons, including the 9K720 Iskander (SS-26 Stone) and various cruise missiles, torpedoes, and depth bombs.
• There is a rising debate in the U.S. regarding the Sea-Launched Cruise Missile-Nuclear (SLCM-N), with proponents arguing it restores balance with Russia and provides a wider range of options if nuclear use becomes necessary to restore deterrence.
• Tactical nuclear weapons increase the risk of accidental or unauthorized use because command and control may be delegated to isolated field commanders.

APA

Dill, C., du Pont, J., Facini, A., Moulton, J., Parthemore, C., & Shah, S. V. (2023). Ending Tactical Nuclear Weapons. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2023/08/01/ending-tactical-nuclear-weapons/

Chicago

Dill, Catherine, Jackson du Pont, Andrew Facini, John Moulton, Christine Parthemore, and Sahil V. Shah. Ending Tactical Nuclear Weapons. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2023. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2023/08/01/ending-tactical-nuclear-weapons/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dill |first1=Catherine |last2=du Pont |first2=Jackson |last3=Facini |first3=Andrew |last4=Moulton |first4=John |last5=Parthemore |first5=Christine |last6=Shah |first6=Sahil V. |title=Ending Tactical Nuclear Weapons |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=1 August 2023 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2023/08/01/ending-tactical-nuclear-weapons/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dill2023ending, author = {Dill, Catherine and du Pont, Jackson and Facini, Andrew and Moulton, John and Parthemore, Christine and Shah, Sahil V.}, title = {{Ending Tactical Nuclear Weapons}}, institution = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2023/08/01/ending-tactical-nuclear-weapons/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }