India has a 'Brahamastra' 1000 times more lethal than atomic bomb, can destroy Islamabad, Lahore completely; its name is...

India.com

03-05-2025

(File)
India nuclear weapons: The chances of a full-scale India-Pakistan war have increased exponentially after the brutal Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 last month, and the whole world is worried that any military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors could devolve into a nuclear conflict.
While on paper, both India and Pakistan have almost the same number of nuclear weapons in their respective arsenals (180 and 170, respectively), India's nuclear weapons are far more superior and advanced than those possessed by its arch nemesis. For example, Pakistan is believed to have only the atomic bombs in its arsenal, while India has thermonuclear weapons or Hydrogen bombs, which are reportedly a 1000 times more lethal than any conventional nuclear weapons. Hydrogen Bomb vs Atom Bomb – What's the difference?
The atom bomb, like the ones which devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, is the first nuclear weapon ever made by humankind. It works by producing a sudden burst of enormous energy when atoms inside the fissile material separate violently by a process known as nuclear fission. This releases a burst of energy which causes a blast wave, leveling vast swathes of surrounding area, with the level of destruction depending upon the yield.
On the other hand, a Hydrogen bomb also known as a thermonuclear bomb is a multi-stage weapon, with plutonium or uranium atoms undergoing nuclear fission in the first stage, producing the initial blast. The hydrogen gas in the bomb makes blast more powerful, that triggers the fusion of atoms in the second stage, in which an exponentially much larger amount of energy is released, which could be over 1000 times more than an atomic bomb. Which countries have thermonuclear weapons?
According to a Washington Post report, India is among only the six nations globally, believed to have tested thermonuclear weapons. The United States, United Kingdom, Russia, China, and France are believed to be the other five. India tested five nuclear weapons in 1998, one of which was a hydrogen bomb.
Military experts believe Pakistan does not possess thermonuclear weapons, but this is mere speculation as nuclear weapons are highly-classified, and not much is publicly known about the nuclear capabilities of nuclear-armed nations.
Notably, the largest thermonuclear bomb ever tested was the 15 megaton Castle Bravo by the US, which caused a blast wave estimated to be over 1000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The Tsar Bomba, which was built by the erstwhile USSR, and currently in Russia's arsenal, is believed to be the most powerful thermonuclear bomb in existence with a yield of 50 megatons. Why only few nations have thermonuclear weapons?
According to experts, it is relatively 'easier' to build atomic bombs which work on the principle of nuclear fission with enriched uranium being the fissile material used to trigger the nuclear reaction. In contrast, splitting plutonium atoms in the first stage, and later triggering a fusion reaction in the second stage in a hydrogen bomb is much more complicated, and only a few nations have achieved this capability, says Professor Alex Wellerstein, a nuclear weapons expert at the Stevens Institute of Technology.
The first hydrogen bomb was developed by the United States, seven years after it built the world's first nuclear weapons, by spending an estimated $39 billion (according to 2023 estimates), for nuclear research, development and testing. The US built four atom bombs, one was used for testing, two were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, while the fourth remained unused.
The atomic bomb nicknamed 'Little Boy' dropped on Hiroshima contained 140 pounds of uranium and had a 15 kiloton yield, while the 13-pound 'Fat Man' atom bomb with plutonium fuel that razed Nagasaki was caused a 21 kiloton blast.
could produce an explosion of 15 kilotons. Whereas a 13-pound bomb (Fat Man) with plutonium fuel was dropped on Nagasaki, which could produce an explosion of 21 kilotons.