Chagai-I

Chagai-I
Information
CountryPakistan
Test siteRas Koh Hills, Chagai, Balochistan, Pakistan
Period28 May 1998
Number of tests5
Test typeUnderground tests
Device typeBoosted fission/Fusion
Max. yield40 kilotons of TNT (170 TJ)
[1]: 281–282 See note[2]
Test chronology

Chagai-I is the code name of five simultaneous underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan at 15:15 hrs PKT on 28 May 1998.[1]: 281 [3][4] The tests were performed at Ras Koh Hills in the Chagai District of Balochistan Province.[5]

Chagai-I was Pakistan's first public test of nuclear weapons. China's supply of nuclear reactor in 1993 and nuclear technology prior to that for the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant helped to achieve it. Its timing was a direct response to India's second nuclear test Pokhran-II, on 11 and 13 May 1998. These tests by Pakistan and India resulted in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1172 and economic sanctions on both states by a number of major powers, particularly the United States and Japan. By testing nuclear devices, Pakistan became the seventh country to publicly test nuclear weapons.[6]: 14–15 [7] Pakistan's second nuclear test, Chagai-II, followed on 30 May 1998.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Khan2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Approximating and calculating the exact, accurate and precise yields are difficult to calculate. Even under very controlled conditions, precise yields can be very hard to determine, and for less controlled conditions the margins of error can be quite large. There are a number of different ways that the yields can be determined, including calculations based on blast size, blast brightness, seismographic data, and the strength of the shock wave. The Pakistan Government authorities puts up the yield range from 36-~40 kt depending on the mathematical calculations they had performed. On other hand, independent and non-government sanctioned organizations puts the figure at the possible 15–20 kt range. The explosion measured 5.54 degrees on the Richter Scale, the PAEC provided the data as public domain in the KNET sources.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference CTBTO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference A Science Oddyssey: Pakistan's Nuclear Emergence was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference nuc-wep-archive-98 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rehman1999 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Azam2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).