Editing Nuclear weapon (section)

====Tactical nuclear weapons====
[[File:ChemicalExercise2018-01.jpg|thumb|right|Soviet [[OTR-21 Tochka]] missile. Capable of firing a 100-kiloton nuclear warhead a distance of 185 km]]
Some nuclear weapons are designed for special purposes; most of these are for non-strategic (decisively war-winning) purposes and are referred to as [[tactical nuclear weapon]]s.

The [[neutron bomb]] purportedly conceived by [[Samuel T. Cohen|Sam Cohen]] is a thermonuclear weapon that yields a relatively small explosion but a relatively large amount of neutron [[radiation]]. Such a weapon could, according to tacticians, be used to cause massive biological casualties while leaving inanimate infrastructure mostly intact and creating minimal fallout. Because high energy neutrons are capable of penetrating dense matter, such as tank armor, neutron warheads were procured in the 1980s (though not deployed in Europe) for use as tactical payloads for US Army artillery shells (200&nbsp;mm [[W79 Artillery-Fired Atomic Projectile|W79]] and 155&nbsp;mm [[W82]]) and [[MGM-52 Lance|short range missile]] forces. Soviet authorities announced similar intentions for neutron warhead deployment in Europe; indeed, they claimed to have originally invented the neutron bomb, but their deployment on USSR tactical nuclear forces is unverifiable.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

A type of nuclear explosive most suitable for use by ground special forces was the [[Special Atomic Demolition Munition]], or SADM, sometimes popularly known as a [[Suitcase nuclear device|suitcase nuke]]. This is a nuclear bomb that is man-portable, or at least truck-portable, and though of a relatively small yield (one or two kilotons) is sufficient to destroy important tactical targets such as bridges, dams, tunnels, important military or commercial installations, etc. either behind enemy lines or pre-emptively on friendly territory soon to be overtaken by invading enemy forces. These weapons require plutonium fuel and are particularly "dirty". They also demand especially stringent security precautions in their storage and deployment.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Small "tactical" nuclear weapons were deployed for use as antiaircraft weapons. Examples include the USAF [[AIR-2 Genie]], the [[AIM-26 Falcon]] and US Army [[Nike Hercules]]. Missile interceptors such as the [[Sprint (missile)|Sprint]] and the [[LIM-49 Spartan|Spartan]] also used small nuclear warheads (optimized to produce neutron or X-ray flux) but were for use against enemy strategic warheads.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Other small, or tactical, nuclear weapons were deployed by naval forces for use primarily as [[antisubmarine]] weapons. These included nuclear [[depth charge|depth bombs]] or nuclear armed torpedoes. Nuclear mines for use on land or at sea are also possibilities.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}