Belesarius Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 Those of us who have discussed this on TS should be familiar with this idea. Saudis are in process to buy nukes from Pakistan. Thanks to T___A for the article. http://www.thetower.org/2046-report-saudis-to-buy-nuke-from-pakistan-in-response-to-iran-deal/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 IIRC Pakistan was able to service their nukes only because of Saudi's money. So they are just getting what they paid for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belesarius Posted May 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 IIRC Pakistan was able to service their nukes only because of Saudi's money. So they are just getting what they paid for Yep, that's my read of it anyway. Just not overly thrilled with the very fractured internally House of Saud having access to Nukes. Just doesn't sound like an overly good idea. They are not the sharpest pencil crayon in the box at times. Anyone know what level Pakistan's nukes are at? City busters? KT range? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostCosmonaut Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 I looked quickly, Pakistanis bombs are probably in the range of 10-20 kt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxn Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 Wow that's low. Surely they can improve on trinity et al? Or is it a case of miniaturisation ruining yeild on a non-boosted design? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priory_of_Sion Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 NUKEMAP gives the Pakistani weapon 45 kt, enough to kill ~250k Iranians in Tehran according to that program. Pakistan could be too much more stable than Saudi Arabia. The whole region is just a clusterfuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 And what Saudis can do with those nukes? I don't understand purpose of those warheads, Saudi Arabia have more problems with internal politics, that are posing a real threat to country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belesarius Posted May 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 And what Saudis can do with those nukes? I don't understand purpose of those warheads, Saudi Arabia have more problems with internal politics, that are posing a real threat to country. Which is why the thought of them having them is so fucking terrifying. Nukes + failed state = veryunhappymaking things getting more and more likely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xlucine Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 >acquire nukes >civilised nations now much more interested in keeping SA stable >guarantee kingdom for 1000 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donward Posted May 18, 2015 Report Share Posted May 18, 2015 It's fairly clear that a growing number of states are no longer keen on depending on the outcome of American elections for the preservation of their national sovereignty. In the case of the Middle East, the Iranians will get the Atom Bomb and a means of delivering it. Furthermore, I don't see the Saudis having the military capability to stand up to the Iranians in any sort of conventional (or non-conventional) war. And they certainly don't have the domestic stability (from what I can see) to sustain the casualties and loss of treasury needed to fight Iran and its proxies. So nuclear proliferation is a "cheap" way of balancing ledger thus ensuring that the House of Saud can continue to enjoy a lifestyle filled with Italian sports cars, French champagne, Swiss watches and Eastern European call girls. I'd try to work up some crocodile tears except I keep remembering how the fuckers left us in the lurch 12 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T___A Posted May 19, 2015 Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 >acquire nukes >civilised nations now much more interested in keeping SA stable >guarantee kingdom for 1000 years! Didn't work for the Soviets soooooo... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virdea Posted May 19, 2015 Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 Paki nukes are probably in the range of god knows if they will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collimatrix Posted May 19, 2015 Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 Wow that's low. Surely they can improve on trinity et al? Or is it a case of miniaturisation ruining yeild on a non-boosted design? Most of the speculation I've seen has the Pakistanis using plutonium as their weapon core material. Plutonium has a fairly high spontaneous fission rate, especially for countries that have limited enrichment infrastructure, meaning that bomb plutonium has high amounts of Pu-240 mixed in. You can replace "countries that have limited enrichment infrastructure" with "countries that are not the United States." It is possible to make efficient pure fission devices with plutonium cores with high Pu-240 content, but it's much harder. Maybe the Pakistani designs fall short here; but that's speculation on my part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted May 19, 2015 Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 Didn't work for the Soviets soooooo... Saudis are affraid of events, that are similar to Ukrainian conflict - part of SA population are 'pro-Iran' AFAIK. Nukes will be needed only for direct confrontation with Iran, but in Yemen (where this conflict is possible currently) Hezbollah is active and work as Iranian proxy, as far as i am aware. So they are preparing for conflict with Iran or internal conflict? Only war with Iran is where nukes make some sense, but propability of that war is not obvious for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khand-e Posted May 19, 2015 Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 NUKEMAP gives the Pakistani weapon 45 kt, enough to kill ~250k Iranians in Tehran according to that program. Pakistan could be too much more stable than Saudi Arabia. The whole region is just a clusterfuck. At least Pakistan has not only the USA but China investing tens of billions of USD into them for infrastructure and defense improvements targeted at regional stability and counter terrorism/trade protection mostly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxn Posted May 19, 2015 Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 I must admit to a huge bias here; namely that I have no love for Saudi Arabia at all. They create nothing of value, provide nothing good to the world at large beyond the crude that they just so happen to sit on. So fuck 'em. xthetenth, Belesarius and Collimatrix 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belesarius Posted May 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 I must admit to a huge bias here; namely that I have no love for Saudi Arabia at all. They create nothing of value, provide nothing good to the world at large beyond the crude that they just so happen to sit on. So fuck 'em. I kind of agree with you, which is WHY I don't want them to have nukes. WHEN, (not if) they fail, I don't want WMD in play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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