Gardarike and Weapons of Mass Destruction

Weapons of Mass Destruction
List of states with nuclear weapons

Civil Defence
Unlike many other nuclear powers of comparable capabilities, Gardarike has opted to include comprehensive civil defence as a part of its deterrence policy. This is intended to discourage an aggressor from striking civilian targets as doing so would result in comparatively few casualties compared to an unprotected population.

Gardarike has an ambitious program of public NBC shelters for its population and a reserve of strategically important machinery and resources, including fuel, food, medicine, fertilizer, locomotives, machine tools and various other resources deemed necessary to start a rebuilding effort of society in case of a catastrophic war involving Nuclear, Biological or Chemical weapons.

Municipalities with a population over 1000 people are required by law to provide public shelter space for all their constituents, funded by municipal taxes. Those who live in municipalities with fewer than 1000 people are entitled to a government voucher for purchasing an approved domestic shelter.



History
Following the global series of nuclear weapons tests near the end of the Great Kesh War, Gardarike started a large and ambitious nuclear weapons program for fear of being left behind in the Atomic Age of warfare. The nuclear program had begun as early as 1949 but did not begin in earnest and move beyond theoretical work until 1958. The program eventually resulted in 93 nuclear tests, 45 of which were conducted in the atmosphere over eastern Gardarike. Designs tested ranged from lightweight atom bombs to high-yield missile warheads to even neutron bombs. The first nuclear test was a large and unboosted 20 kiloton implosion device detonated in Eastern Gardarike in September 1963, codenamed "Dandelion". Gardarike's largest nuclear test was also its first hydrogen bomb test, conducted in 1970 and codenamed "Sunflower" with a yield of 3.2 megatons.

The materials used to develop the weapons were produced at several government installations across the country. A 600 MWt "research reactor" as the Gardic government referred to it, is believed to have been used for producing weapons grade plutonium from 1971 to 1998. An older 200 MWt research reactor built in 1960 is still running however and could still be used to produce weapons grade plutonium. In addition, it is possible that some of Gardarike's power reactors may have been used to produce weapons grade plutonium, as they are usually graphite moderated and thus readily able to do so. Most of the HEU produced in Gardarike came from a single gas centrifuge plant built in Brun in 1971. This plant remains in operation today where it is believed to be used for producing HEU for naval reactors amd civilian reactors alike.

Defence Journals have claimed that Gardarike may have provided the Austrasian Riche with weapons grade plutonium and tritium in exchange for Austrasian assistance with Gardic semiconductor technology. The Gardic government has remained ambiguous about this however and officially maintains that it provided Austrasia only with reactor grade plutonium for power production.

Arsenal and targeting policy
Since the late 1990's, Gardarike has eschewed most tactical nuclear weapons and abandoned countervalue targeting, instead adopting a nuclear posture based on and military installations. In addition it has adopted a no first-use policy against non-nuclear states. Furthermore, greater emphasis was placed on a survivable command structure and a dependable second-strike capability.

The primary component of Gardarike's nuclear arsenal is its 150 strong SF-3 "Hörmung" Intermediate-range ballistic missile force. Each missile is mounted on a road-mobile launcher and carries a hardened 80-kiloton maneuverable nuclear warhead with a high level of accuracy and an earth penetrating option, enabling its use against hard targets.

The older versions of the Hörmung missile carry a 1.2 megaton warhead, as of 2016 most of them have been retired and dismounted from the missiles but approximately 20 Mod 1 variants are believed to remain in service.

As a part of its commitment to the PAC nuclear umbrella and a means of carrying out limited nuclear strikes as a show of force, Gardarike also possesses 40 air-deliverable nuclear gravity bombs. These have greater strategic flexibility than the missile force as they have a of 0.5, 10 or 190 kilotons as well as having the possibility of rapid re-basing. Like their missile counterparts they are highly accurate and can penetrate the earth to a depth of a few metres. These bombs are deliverable by Smyrill or Fálki multirole fighters with the possibility of aerial refueling to strike targets in distant parts of Artemia.

In 1993, two of these bombs were when a Fálki fighter-bomber crashed in Northern Samotkhe. Despite a thorough search, the weapons were never recovered.

=Development of Gardic nuclear weapons.=

Early efforts towards “The bomb”.
Early 1955: The first Gardic nuclear reactor goes critical, a small research reactor at the Physics University in Brun.

Mid 1959: The Gardic nuclear arms program is officially sanctioned by the Gardic Government from fear of falling behind other great powers in Anterra.

 Mid 1961: The first nuclear production reactor goes critical, producing weapons grade plutonium, tritium, polonium, and other nuclear components.

Early 1963: First test is conducted. 10 kiloton yield. Heavy, non-deliverable, high-efficiency design. Like Upshot-Knothole Harry but with less plutonium.

One test is conducted, weapons effects are observed.

Total: 1  Mid 1963: Second production reactor goes critical.  Late 1963: Centrifuge plant comes online.

Early 1965: Plutonium production in full swing, first deliverable warhead is designed. MK-7 style with 92 detonators and levitated pit.

10, 3, and 20 kiloton versions deployed. Deliverable by light bomber. Tested with an SRBM but not fielded as such due to safety, accuracy and maintenance concerns.

4 tests, Total: 5

Miniaturisation and “Sophistication”.
Mid 1967: HEU production starts to ramp up. Composite pit designs are tested using previous MK-7 bomb assembly. Some previous variants are recycled into 12, 40 and 80 kiloton variants to reduce use of precious plutonium, permitting a substantial growth of the nuclear arsenal. Some used beryllium reflectors.

A nuclear artillery shell is field tested.The shell was a W33-style. 20 cm diameter dual gun-type weapon with a yield of 2.5 kilotons. Troop maneuvers are exercised during the test for the first time. Variants of the shell had a yield of 0.2, 2.5 and 10 kilotons, but only the 2.5 kiloton version is tested.

Three naval nuclear tests are conducted, 3x10 kiloton bombs are airburst, detonated at a shallow depth and deep underwater.

8 tests, Total: 13

The Hydrogen bomb
Early 1969: Fusion experiments begin. Decision made to make warheads 1-point safe in following designs as opposed to IFI.

D-D, D-T, and Alarm-clock tests conducted using experimental implosion assembly from the original test. Gaseous D-T determined to be the way forward.

3 tests, Total: 16

Late 1969: Tests begin for a new, small, safe, boosted-fission bomb. WE.177/W44 style. 2 tests are carried out to determine design. chosen design tested 4 times to make safe. Thermonuclear primary for deliverable H-bomb tested twice.

8 tests, Total: 24

Early 1970:

First hydrogen device tested. A cryogenic deuterium design with a lead tamper. 3200 kilotons detonated from a balloon.

1 test, total: 35

Late 1970:

The Dimmaland Disaster
Late 1970:

A test of a Dry fuel hydrogen bomb goes disastrously wrong. The bomb was air dropped from the back of a cargo plane and parachute retarded. Expected to yield 2 megatons, the true yield turned out to be 4.5 megatons due to the poorly understood behaviour of Li-6. The fireball touched the ground and a substantial amount of fallout was created. 12,000 people were quickly evacuated from villages downwind. 657 mild-to-moderate cases of ARS were treated. Despite efforts to destroy contaminated milk, dozens would be killed from cancer in the following years and decades. Nuclear testing is suspended for 3 years, high-yield (150+ kt) atmospheric tests are suspended permanently at Dimmaland.

Resumption of Testing and Missile focus
Late 1973: Tests of deliverable thermonuclear warheads begin.

modified primary tests from WE.177 style bomb: 2 Full scale test failure, thermonuclear fizzle 1. Half-scale test success 1 megaton yield achieved in a package akin to B27. Full-scale test success, 2 megaton yield achieved in B27. Emergency capability only for light bomber delivery.

5 tests, total 40.

Early 1974: live Tactical Ballistic Missile test of WE.177 warhead. Test successful and missile fielded.

1 test, total: 41

Late 1974:

Test of hundred-kiloton range, low-yield TN warhead. For fitting in narrow supersonic casings and SRBM’s. Similar to W50 warhead.

6 tests, total: 47.

Mid 1975:

Tests of lightweight, high-yield strategic missile warhead begins.

Secondary mockup tests and full yield tests successful. ovoid primary fizzles on first attempt, second attempt successful but following test not safe.

6 tests, total 53.

Mid 1976: Safety tests continue, failures continue.

5 tests, total 58.

Early 1977: Safety tests finally succeed. 5 consecutive successes.

63 total.

Weapon designs
mk7 design 1965-1974. 46 produced WE.177 design 1970-1998. 130 produced Mk 27 design 1971-1997. 28 produced.

Clandestine activities
Gardarike totally doesn't slip a uranium centrifuge schematic under the door of the Austrasian embassy in 1965, nuh uh.