simulation testing on supercomputers. China has some one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world.
China ICBM/SLBM, nuclear arms thread
- Thread starter Blitzo
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It's less about supercomputers, much more about real test data. After all, China had only conducted nuclear explosion 45 times, compared with thousands each by the US and USSR.
antiterror13
Brigadier
Doesn't really matter how powerful your supercomputer is and how advanced the simulation is .... the simulation is as good as the input and data from the actual test
The big question is whether China is confident enough with the data they have from 47 tests ... probably enough in my opinion
But ultimately the actual test is the real thing
Israel never done the actual test ... but perhaps get the data from the US
India has only done 3 tests (6 devices fired) ... obviously not enough and nobody believes that one of those was hydrogen bomb test
Pakistan has only done 1 test (5 devices fired) ... not enough
NK has done 6 tests
The UK has done 88 and France 217
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China likely more than makes up for it due to use of supercomputing. None of the other countries with smaller amounts of tests have access to similar resources.
I don't see a restart of warhead testing, they've had decades to perfect strategic warheads, and the doctrine of the PLA asserts they will not use tactical nukes, instead they will respond to tactical nukes with pinpoint strategic nuclear use on military targets.
They will still keep doing tons of missile testing though. Pushing the hypersonic and stealth weapon envelope is the way to go for future warfare.
I don't see a restart of warhead testing, they've had decades to perfect strategic warheads, and the doctrine of the PLA asserts they will not use tactical nukes, instead they will respond to tactical nukes with pinpoint strategic nuclear use on military targets.
They will still keep doing tons of missile testing though. Pushing the hypersonic and stealth weapon envelope is the way to go for future warfare.
Israel initially had help from the French. And later they had joint development of nukes with South Africa. Try reading about the Vela Incident.
It's possible, even likely, that China has access to Russian test data.
No. Seismic detection from other countries would pick it up.
No. Nuclear weapons have a characteristic seismic and acoustic signature. Even tests below 0.2 kt are detectable from the other side of the planet. What militaries do is subcritical tests. These involve real explosive lenses and nuclear materials but they don't involve criticality. The functionality of the first stage can be tested this way.
Wasn’t Taiwan implicated, also, in that Israeli South African program?