Atomic demolition munitions

Atomic demolition munitions (ADMs), colloquially known as nuclear land mines, are small nuclear explosive devices. ADMs were developed for both military and civilian purposes. As weapons, they were designed to be exploded in the forward battle area, in order to block or channel enemy forces. Non-militarily, they were designed for demolition, mining or earthmoving. However, apart from testing, they have never been used for either purpose.

Military uses

Instead of being delivered to the target by missiles, rockets, or artillery shells, ADMs were intended to be emplaced by soldiers. Because of their relatively small size and light weight, ADMs could be emplaced by military engineers or Special Forces teams, then detonated on command or by timer to create massive obstructions. By destroying key terrain features or choke points such as bridges, dams, mountain passes, and tunnels, ADMs could block the movement of enemy forces or channel them into pre-planned killing zones.^[1]

According to official accounts, the United States deployed ADMs overseas in Italy and West Germany during the Cold War.^[2] Recent scholarship also indicates that the most modern types, SADMs and MADMs, were deployed in South Korea.^[3]

Civilian uses

ADMs have never been used commercially, though such devices have been used to put out gas well fires as part of the Soviet test program.

The Soviet Union tested the use of nuclear devices for mining and natural gas extraction on several occasions starting from the mid 1960s, as part of the Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy program. Tests for similar purposes were carried out in the United States under Operation Plowshare, but due to radioactive contamination caused by the tests, no commercial use was made of the technology. With today's greater concerns over the dangers of radiation, it seems unlikely that nuclear devices will ever be used for non-military purposes.

List of United States ADMs

• W-7/ADM-B (c.1954-1967)
• T4 ADM (1957–1963) Gun-type
• W30/Tactical Atomic Demolition Munition (1961–1966)
• W31/ADM (1960–1965)
• W45/Medium Atomic Demolition Munition (1964–1984)
• W54/Special Atomic Demolition Munition (1965–1989)

See also

• Tactical nuclear weapons

References

1. ^ Field Manual 5-106, Employment of Atomic Demolition Munitions (Washington: Department of the Army, July 1984) (Unclassified).
2. ^ Kenneth W. Condit, The History of the Joint Chiefs of Staff--The Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Policy, Volume VI, 1955-56 (Washington: GPO, 1992) p.146; 93rd Congress, "U.S. Security Issues in Europe" December 2, 1973, p.15; The New York Times December 2, 1973, pp.1,34.
3. ^ Peter Hayes, Pacific Powderkeg: American Nuclear Dilemmas in Korea (Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Co., 1991) p.48; Tom Gervasi, The Myth of Soviet Nuclear Supremacy (NY: Harper & Row, 1986) pp.416-417; William M. Arkin and Richard W. Fieldhouse, Nuclear Battlefields: Global Links in the Arms Race (Cambridge: Ballinger, 1985) p.61.