Things are not looking good. I don't know why the Russians would ever create
sucha thing, but it means our borders are porous if they are not found.
Major cities on both borders would be vulnerable if they got these into Canada
or Mexico.
Why the Alazan warheads were made is unknown. The urgent question where are
they now? is a matter of grave concern to terrorism and nonproliferation
experts who know the damage such devices could do. A dirty bomb is not a
nuclear device but a weapon that uses conventional explosives to disperse
radioactive materials, which could cause widespread disruption and expose
people to dangerous radiation. Unlike other kinds of dirty bombs, this one
would come with its own delivery system, and a 8-mile range. A number of
terrorist groups, including al Qaeda, have sought to build or buy one.
Lets hope they find them.
THE LAST known repository was here, in a tiny separatist enclave known as
Transdniester, which broke away from Moldova 12 years ago. The Transdniester
Moldovan Republic is a sliver of land no bigger than Rhode Island located
along Moldovas eastern border with Ukraine. Its government is recognized by
no other nation. But its weapons stocks new, used and modified have
attracted the attention of black-market arms dealers worldwide. And theyre
for sale, according to U.S. and Moldovan officials and weapons experts.
When the Soviet army withdrew from this corner of Eastern Europe, the
weapons were deposited into an arsenal of stupefying proportions. In fortified
bunkers are stored 50,000 tons of aging artillery shells, mines and rockets,
enough to fill 2,500 boxcars.
There are 38 AZLAN warheads known to exist, adn while they are not big, they
have the potentioal to do major damage to a city by spreading radioactive
material.
I am unclear as to what their damage potential is. They are slightly less
than 4 inches in diameter, andx maybe less than 6 feet in length. What we
have here is a rusian manufactured Surface to surface dirty bomb. It is
fairly sophisticated, designed to explode in an air burst, but now modified
to act as an area bombardment weapon.
One report says that only 12 of these weapons are missing.
4 responses total.
http://www.nti.org/db/nistraff/2001/20010560.htm
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199899/cmselect/cmfa ff/ 349/349ap18.htm, but even then they don't seem radionucleative.
Heh, you mean terrorists could get hold of the infamous 45-minute WMD launch capability?? ;-) http://nuclearno.com/text.asp?4501 An estimated 20 tons of highly enriched uranium currently is stored at such locations in about 40 countries, from Russia and other former Soviet republics to Libya and the Congo Republic. Frigging Congo republic??!! Libya??!! Give me Saddam Hussein back anyday!!
Radiological weapon? Is that, like, a bazooka disguised as a mammography machine?
You have several choices: