Russian Tsar Bomba: Most ‘powerful nuclear bomb’ in the world!

On February 27, as the Ukraine war entered its third day, President Putin ordered nuclear alerts to be erected as the world held its breath. The Russian arsenal contains over 5,900 nuclear warheads, according to reports. Despite this, the most powerful nuclear weapon of the country, the Tsar Bomba, was developed during the Soviet era. The bomb, developed during the Cold War in 1961, was considered the most powerful weapon of mass destruction.

The bomb, when it was tested in the Arctic Ocean on Novaya Zemlya Island, was visible from 1,000 kilometers away. According to reports, the explosion rose to 67 km into the sky. The explosion was the most powerful man-made explosion ever recorded. In August 1945, the US dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that was 3,800 times more powerful than the bomb. This bomb was also known as RDS-220.

Tsar Cannon
Several mushroom clouds were reported to have been produced by the Tsar bomb explosion that occurred approximately 4 km above ground. Reports state that a seismic shock wave equivalent to 5.0 on the Richter Scale was measured around the world as the bomb destroyed an uninhabited village 55 km from Ground Zero.

However, the bomb was never operationally used, and it was never developed into a ballistic missile. The ‘Tsar Cannon’ was widely seen as a propaganda weapon at the height of the Cold War. It was tested the same year as the Cuban missile crisis in 1961.

Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile
In 2019, Russia successfully tested the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile from the White Sea off its northwest coast.

Underwater launch from the White Sea
In a statement, the defence ministry said the missile flew as planned and landed at the scheduled time. Launched from an underwater position in the White Sea, off Russia’s northern coast, the missile hit a target thousands of kilometers away on the Kamchatka peninsula in far eastern Russia. Russia is considered to be sending a significant message to the West, especially the United States through the test.

Powerful than the Hiroshima bomb
Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) are missiles that can carry six independently targeted warheads, each equivalent to 150 kilotons of TNT. Each missile is between 50 and 60 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, which was approximately 15 kilotons. The Bulava is estimated to have a range of over 8,300 kilometers.