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Nuclear weapon

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A nuclear weapon is a type of explosive weapon of mass destruction whose destructive power comes from nuclear reactions. The detonation of a nuclear weapon results in a powerful blast, fires, and radiation over a massive area of effect, which can result in mass civilian and military casualties. The radiation from a nuclear blast can remain in the area for many years.[4]

In the Strangereal universe, nuclear weapons have only been successfully used during a conflict once: Belka detonated seven V1 tactical nuclear weapons in its own territory to end the Belkan War. This event began worldwide efforts for nuclear non-proliferation.

History

Cold War

Nuclear weapons were first developed in Strangereal sometime prior to the 1980s, at which point Osea and Yuktobania entered a cold war. During this time, both countries expanded their nuclear arsenals, resulting in a state of mutually assured destruction. The expansion of their nuclear capabilities allowed for further developments in ballistic missile technology.[1]

In 1985, at the height of the Cold War, the Belkan military initiated Project Pendragon (led by Anton Kupchenko) to develop mass retaliation weapons. It is assumed that Belka's V1 tactical nuclear devices were developed either before or during Pendragon since the project's ultimate product was the V2 MIRV missile, which could equip multiple W87 nuclear warheads.[5]

Belkan War

An OBC report on the nuclear detonations on June 6, 1995

In March 1995, Belka invaded all of its neighbors following the discovery of natural resources in Ustio. With the efforts of Galm Team and the Allied Forces, Belka was pushed back into its own territory. In mid-May, following intelligence of Belka developing the V2, the Allied Forces began invading Belkan territory under the pretense of "Nuclear Inspection".[6]

Within two weeks, the Allied Forces abrogated a non-aggression treaty, speeding up the invasion of Belka; South Belka was almost completely under Allied Forces control by June 5, allowing them to march on Sudentor to enter North Belka.[7] On June 6, in a last-ditch effort to prevent this from happening, Belka detonated seven of their V1 tactical nuclear weapons in its own territory in the Waldreich Mountains.[2]

The effects of the detonations were immediate. 12,000 people died in the blasts, and the entire area was coated in nuclear fallout and suffered from a localized nuclear winter. The mountainsides were reshaped by large craters marking where the nukes detonated.[8] The few people who survived the blasts continued to live in the area at least until 1996, according to Larry Foulke.[9] A cease-fire was immediately ordered, and a peace treaty was signed in Lumen two weeks after the blasts.[10]

In December 1995, A World With No Boundaries captured Avalon Dam where a prototype V2 was held and attempted to launch it. Were it successful, its nuclear warheads would have separated to strike multiple major cities and resource facilities on the Osean continent.[11] Cipher destroyed the V2's launch control devices; Larry Foulke attempted to manually launch it from his ADFX-02 Morgan, but Cipher destroyed the Morgan, which caused the V2 to detonate harmlessly in the upper atmosphere.[12]

Post-Belkan War

The horrors of the nuclear detonations in Belka had a large impact on the world's psyche. Global arms reduction and nuclear non-proliferation policies began to take shape as countries tried to reduce the risk of such an event happening in the future.[13]

In 1996, during negotiations for developing a planetary defense system against Ulysses 1994XF04, some members of Usea's Council of Foreign Ministers expressed a desire to see nuclear arms reduction as part of the agreements.[3] However, it is not known if such policies were adopted at the time.

Nuclear non-proliferation continued to be a topic of political interest in the 21st century. During the G7 Summit in 2008, the nations attending the summit—which included Osea and Yuktobania, the two largest nuclear superpowers—agreed to begin putting the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty into effect to ban nuclear detonations.[1]

Circum-Pacific War

In late 2010, a Belkan terrorist organization called the Grey Men instigated a major conflict between Osea and Yuktobania. The Grey Men retrieved at least two V1 tactical nuclear weapons that were being stored in Mount Schirm and attempted to detonate them in either country to escalate the conflict into nuclear war. The efforts of Razgriz Squadron prevented their use.[14][15]

The Grey Men had also completed development of a second V2 and loaded it onto the Strategic Orbital Linear Gun satellite to use it as a Kinetic Energy Weapon. Razgriz Squadron entered Gründer Industries' tunnel in Sudentor to destroy the SOLG's control devices,[16] but the SOLG's failsafe attempted to drop it on Oured by crashing the satellite into the city with the armed weapon onboard, forcing Razgriz to destroy it directly. With the destruction of the SOLG's core, the V2 detonated at a safe distance above Oured.[17]

Lighthouse War

The Alicorn firing a 1 kiloton tactical nuclear shell from its main gun

During the Lighthouse War in 2019, the Alicorn became a threat to Osean forces in Usea. The submarine carried neutron bombs capable of wiping out scores of civilians across a wide area.[18]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ While Osea, Yuktobania, and Belka are the only Strangereal powers explicitly stated to have nuclear weapons, it is assumed that other countries were also capable of developing or deploying them. For example, since nuclear arms reduction was mentioned by a Usean council,[3] at least one Usean country likely possessed nuclear weapons.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Arkbird Declaration: Summit 2008. Retrieved on 29 November 2017.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mission 12: "The Stage of Apocalypse", Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Asteroid On Collision Course With Earth. Retrieved on August 9, 2017.
  4. ↑ Scene 07: "White Bird (Part I) #1", Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
  5. ↑ Aces At War: A History, pages 134–135.
  6. ↑ Mission 07: "Bastion", Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
  7. ↑ Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War Perfect Guide, page 249.
  8. ↑ Mission 20: "Ancient Walls", Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
  9. ↑ Scene 17: "A Brother in Arms / 3", Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
  10. ↑ Mission 14: "The Final Overture", Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
  11. ↑ Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War Perfect Guide Book, page 176.
  12. ↑ Mission 18: "Zero", Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
  13. ↑ Scene 11: "Epilogue", Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War.
  14. ↑ Mission 23: "Ghosts of Razgriz", Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
  15. ↑ Mission 24: "White Bird (Part II)", Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
  16. ↑ Mission 27: "ACES", Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
  17. ↑ Mission 27+: "The Unsung War", Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
  18. ↑ SP Mission 03: "Ten Million Relief Plan", Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.
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