The US military plans to detonate a 700 tonne explosive charge in a test called "Divine Strake" that will send a mushroom cloud over Las Vegas, a senior defense official said.
"I don't want to sound glib here but it is the first time in Nevada that you'll see a mushroom cloud over Las Vegas since we stopped testing nuclear weapons," said James Tegnelia, head of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
Tegnelia said the test was part of a US effort to develop weapons capable of destroying deeply buried bunkers housing nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.
If I were Iran, I'd be worried....
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Hmph. I'm guessing this is just a test to see how much conventional explosive it will truly take to destroy a deeply-buried target. With the nuclear bunker-buster off the table, the Pentagon's been trying to find new ways to reach deep into the ground from the air. The experimental "Bunker Driller" comes to mind.
Personally, this troubles me more than anything. Maybe I'm just uncomfortable accepting anything less than total U.S. military superiority, but the ability of Iran to place a nuclear or conventional weapon completely without warning into Israel or the Gulf makes me extremely nervous. An operational weapon of this type would instantly put any U.S. "show of force" in the Gulf at significant risk, further endangering U.S. deterrent vis a vis Iran.
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