Smiling Buddha
India's first successful nuclear weapons test (1974) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Operation Smiling Buddha or Operation Happy Krishna[lower-alpha 1] (MEA designation: Pokhran-I) was the assigned code name of India's first successful nuclear bomb test on 18 May 1974.[1] The bomb was detonated on the army base Pokhran Test Range (PTR), in Rajasthan, by the Indian Army under the supervision of several key Indian generals.[2]
Pokhran-I Smiling Buddha | |
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Information | |
Country | India |
Test site | Pokhran Test Range (IA) |
Coordinates | 27°04′44″N 71°43′21″E |
Period | 18 May 1974, 8:05 a.m. (IST) |
Number of tests | 1 |
Test type | Underground shaft |
Device type | Fission |
Max. yield | 8–10 kilotons of TNT (33–42 TJ) |
Test chronology | |
Pokhran-I was also the first confirmed nuclear weapons test by a nation outside the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.[3] Officially, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) characterised this test as a "peaceful nuclear explosion". Indira Gandhi, then the Prime Minister of India, saw a massive rise in popularity following this test. After this, a series of nuclear tests were carried out in 1998 under the name Pokhran-II.