Pokhran-II
1998 series of Indian nuclear weapons tests / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Pokhran-II tests were a series of five nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in May 1998.[3] It was the second instance of nuclear testing conducted by India; the first test, code-named Smiling Buddha, was conducted in May 1974.[4]
Pokhran-II Operation Shakti | |
---|---|
Information | |
Country | India |
Test site | Pokhran Test Range, Rajasthan |
Coordinates | 27°04′44″N 71°43′20″E |
Period | 11–13 May 1998[1] |
Number of tests | 3 (5 devices fired) |
Test type | Underground tests (underground, underground shaft) |
Device type | Fission and Fusion |
Max. yield | 45 kilotons of TNT (190 TJ) tested;[2]
Scale down of 200 kt model |
Test chronology | |
The tests achieved their main objective of giving India the capability to build fission and thermonuclear weapons with yields up to 200 kilotons.[2] The then-Chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission described each one of the explosions of Pokhran-II to be "equivalent to several tests carried out by other nuclear weapon states over decades".[5] Subsequently, India established computer simulation capability to predict the yields of nuclear explosives whose designs are related to the designs of explosives used in this test.[2]
Pokhran-II consisted of five detonations, the first of which was a fusion bomb while the remaining four were fission bombs.[3] The tests were initiated on 11 May 1998, under the assigned code name Operation Shakti, with the detonation of one fusion and two fission bombs.[3] On 13 May 1998, two additional fission devices were detonated,[6] and the Indian government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee shortly convened a press conference to declare India as a full-fledged nuclear state.[6] The tests resulted in a variety of sanctions against India by a number of major countries including Japan and the United States.
Many names have been assigned to these tests; originally these were collectively called Operation Shakti–98, and the five nuclear bombs were designated Shakti-I through to Shakti-V. More recently, the operation as a whole has come to be known as Pokhran-II, and the 1974 explosion as Pokhran-I.[7]