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Pokhran-II
Pokhran-II (Operation Shakti) was a series of five nuclear weapon tests conducted by India in May 1998. The bombs were detonated at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan. It was the second instance of nuclear testing conducted by India, after the first test, Smiling Buddha, in May 1974.
The test consisted of five detonations, the first of which was claimed to be a two-stage fusion bomb while the remaining four were fission bombs. The first three tests were carried out simultaneously on 11 May 1998 and the last two were detonated two days later on 13 May 1998. The tests were collectively called Operation Shakti, and the five nuclear bombs were designated as Shakti-I to Shakti-V.
The chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India described each of the explosions to be equivalent to several tests carried out over the years by various nations. While announcing the tests, the Indian government declared India as a nuclear state and that the tests achieved the main objective of giving the capability to build fission bombs and thermonuclear weapons with yields up to 200 kilotons. While the Indian fission bombs have been documented, the design and development of thermonuclear weapons remains uncertain after the tests.
As a consequence of the tests, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1172 was enacted and economic sanctions were imposed by countries including Japan and the United States.
Efforts towards building a nuclear bomb, infrastructure, and research on related technologies have been undertaken by India since the end of Second World War. The origins of India's nuclear programme go back to 1945 when nuclear physicist Homi Bhabha established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) with the aid of Tata Group. After Indian independence, the Atomic Energy Act was passed on 15 April 1948, that established the Indian Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC). In 1954, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was established which was responsible for the atomic development programme and was allocated a significant amount of the defence budget in the subsequent years. In 1956, the first nuclear reactor became operational at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), becoming the first operating reactor in Asia. In 1961, India commissioned a reprocessing plant to produce weapon grade plutonium. In 1962, India was engaged in a war with China, and with China conducting its own nuclear test in 1964, India accelerated its development of nuclear weapons.
With two reactors operational in the early 1960s, research progressed into the manufacture of nuclear weapons. With the unexpected deaths of then Prime Minister Nehru in 1964 and Bhabha in 1966, the programme slowed down. The incoming prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri appointed physicist Vikram Sarabhai as the head of the nuclear programme and the direction of the programme changed towards using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes rather than military development.
After Shastri's death in 1966, Indira Gandhi became the prime minister and work on the nuclear programme resumed. The design work on the bomb proceeded under physicist Raja Ramanna, who continued the nuclear weapons technology research after Bhabha's death in 1966. The project employed 75 scientists and progressed in secrecy. During the Indo-Pakistani War, the US government sent a carrier battle group into the Bay of Bengal in an attempt to intimidate India, who were aided by the Soviet Union, who responded by sending a submarine armed with nuclear missiles. The Soviet response underlined the deterrent value and significance of nuclear weapons to India. After India gained military and political initiative over Pakistan in the war, the work on building a nuclear device continued. The hardware began to be built in early 1972 and the Prime Minister authorised the development of a nuclear test device in September 1972.
On 18 May 1974, India tested a implosion-type fission device at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range under the code name Smiling Buddha. The test was described as a peaceful nuclear explosion (PNE) and the yield was estimated to be between 6 and 10 kilotons.
Pokhran-II
Pokhran-II (Operation Shakti) was a series of five nuclear weapon tests conducted by India in May 1998. The bombs were detonated at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan. It was the second instance of nuclear testing conducted by India, after the first test, Smiling Buddha, in May 1974.
The test consisted of five detonations, the first of which was claimed to be a two-stage fusion bomb while the remaining four were fission bombs. The first three tests were carried out simultaneously on 11 May 1998 and the last two were detonated two days later on 13 May 1998. The tests were collectively called Operation Shakti, and the five nuclear bombs were designated as Shakti-I to Shakti-V.
The chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India described each of the explosions to be equivalent to several tests carried out over the years by various nations. While announcing the tests, the Indian government declared India as a nuclear state and that the tests achieved the main objective of giving the capability to build fission bombs and thermonuclear weapons with yields up to 200 kilotons. While the Indian fission bombs have been documented, the design and development of thermonuclear weapons remains uncertain after the tests.
As a consequence of the tests, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1172 was enacted and economic sanctions were imposed by countries including Japan and the United States.
Efforts towards building a nuclear bomb, infrastructure, and research on related technologies have been undertaken by India since the end of Second World War. The origins of India's nuclear programme go back to 1945 when nuclear physicist Homi Bhabha established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) with the aid of Tata Group. After Indian independence, the Atomic Energy Act was passed on 15 April 1948, that established the Indian Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC). In 1954, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was established which was responsible for the atomic development programme and was allocated a significant amount of the defence budget in the subsequent years. In 1956, the first nuclear reactor became operational at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), becoming the first operating reactor in Asia. In 1961, India commissioned a reprocessing plant to produce weapon grade plutonium. In 1962, India was engaged in a war with China, and with China conducting its own nuclear test in 1964, India accelerated its development of nuclear weapons.
With two reactors operational in the early 1960s, research progressed into the manufacture of nuclear weapons. With the unexpected deaths of then Prime Minister Nehru in 1964 and Bhabha in 1966, the programme slowed down. The incoming prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri appointed physicist Vikram Sarabhai as the head of the nuclear programme and the direction of the programme changed towards using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes rather than military development.
After Shastri's death in 1966, Indira Gandhi became the prime minister and work on the nuclear programme resumed. The design work on the bomb proceeded under physicist Raja Ramanna, who continued the nuclear weapons technology research after Bhabha's death in 1966. The project employed 75 scientists and progressed in secrecy. During the Indo-Pakistani War, the US government sent a carrier battle group into the Bay of Bengal in an attempt to intimidate India, who were aided by the Soviet Union, who responded by sending a submarine armed with nuclear missiles. The Soviet response underlined the deterrent value and significance of nuclear weapons to India. After India gained military and political initiative over Pakistan in the war, the work on building a nuclear device continued. The hardware began to be built in early 1972 and the Prime Minister authorised the development of a nuclear test device in September 1972.
On 18 May 1974, India tested a implosion-type fission device at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range under the code name Smiling Buddha. The test was described as a peaceful nuclear explosion (PNE) and the yield was estimated to be between 6 and 10 kilotons.