Russia has reportedly developed a nuclear war simulator, including blast and mushroom cloud effects, to train troops for fighting after an exchange of nuclear weapons with an adversary. The report comes from state-controlled media outlet Tass and was repeated in U.S. publications including Stars and Stripes.
The Tass report comes on the heels of the release of a study for U.S. European Command that reconsiders Russia’s thinking on its use of nuclear weapons, especially in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The Russian device will show “what a nuclear strike looks like: the shock effect, flash of light and mushroom cloud of a ground-based nuclear explosion,” according to a description of the device obtained by Tass. The invention will be used in exercises where troops practice radiation-detecting to determine the “parameters and epicenter of a nuclear explosion,” according to Tass.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) has called for at least $20 million in state funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Savannah River Site in Aiken, according to the local Aiken Standard newspaper.
McMaster asked the South Carolina General Assembly to provide $20 million for Battelle Savannah River Alliance during his State of the State address Wednesday evening. The team is the NNSA’s site management contractor at Savannah River.
“I propose continued funding of $20 million for the Battelle Alliance, a collaborative nuclear sciences research partnership between the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, South Carolina State University, and the Savannah River National Laboratory,” according to prepared remarks shared ahead of the address.
Also in Aiken on Monday the city council included $20 million of settlement funds from Savannah River in its budget to build a mixed-use facility for Savannah River National Laboratory.
The additional funds are appropriated for the city’s current fiscal year, which ends June 30th, according to local news outlet Fox 54. The money comes from a 2020 settlement with DOE.
“You know, you’ve got the Governor and the Legislature for the state of South Carolina very interested in this. Again, we want to fulfill our end of what they’re interested in. The $20M of this plutonium money could have gone for other things, but it’s going specifically for this. So again, a lot of expectations and we’re ready to move forward.” said Stuart Bedenbaugh, Aiken city manager.
Despite all-out war in Ukraine, renewed nuclear tensions between Russia, China and the U.S., climate change and a host of other alarming global concerns, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists this year kept its Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds before midnight.
A metaphorical device ticking away toward the end of the world, as assessed by members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Sciences based on geopolitical, scientific, climate and economic factors, the Doomsday Clock already was set at 90 seconds to midnight. That is the closest it has ever been to the perceived end of the world. The Bulletin emphasized in an announcement on Tuesday that the clock could be turned back, but “urgent action” by governments and individuals is needed to avoid catastrophe.
