Scientists at the Khrulev Russian Military Logistics Academy have developed a new simulator, which will replace an older one, to test the effects of nuclear explosions.
According to what is written in the patent, cited by the Tass agency, the aim is to provide "a clear simulation of the visual characteristics, such as the impact effect, flash of light and mushroom cloud, of a nuclear explosion on the ground".
The new equipment, adds Tass, will be used for "exercises and practical training of military units and to improve the quality of preparation of ground forces in combat operations in the context of the use of nuclear weapons, as well as units for the control of radiation" to "locate the epicenter of a nuclear explosion".
Scientists said the new system will replace the previously used one, the IU-59, which is now considered obsolete.
Another simulator previously used for the evaluation of explosions of nuclear devices dropped from aircraft, the IAB-500, has been out of use since 1984.
Meanwhile, the FT online, after having seen some secret Russian military files, revealed that Russia has in the past carried out exercises on the use of tactical nuclear weapons in the initial phase of a conflict with a major world power.
The 29 files drawn up between 2008 and 2014 include both 'wargames' and presentations for naval officers and, according to some experts consulted by the newspaper, describe a threshold for the use of tactical nuclear weapons lower than that publicly admitted by Russia until until now.
The documents, which include training scenarios for an invasion by China, discuss operational principles for the use of nuclear weapons.
The criteria for a potential nuclear response range from an enemy incursion into Russian territory to more specific triggers, such as the destruction of 20% of Russia's strategic ballistic missile submarines.
“This is the first time we have seen documents like this put into the public domain,” Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin, told the newspaper.
“They demonstrate that the operational threshold for the use of nuclear weapons is quite low if the desired outcome cannot be achieved by conventional means.”
Russia's tactical nuclear weapons, which can be launched from land- or sea-based missiles or from aircraft, are designed for limited use on battlefields in Europe and Asia, as opposed to larger 'strategic' weapons intended to target the United States , recalls the Ft.
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