Fallout Shelter: nuclear weapon definition

Introduction

Targets

Built-in weapons

Fallout Shelter includes definitions of all the nuclear weapons publicly known to have been deployed by China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, or the United States — both those currently in use and retired weapons. Empty arsenals are defined for India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, terrorist, and Other, since public data on weapon specifics is scarce. You can either add new weapons or change the existing definitions for any arsenal.

By defining attacks using the yield and accuracy of real weapons, your plans are likely to be more realistic. Many hypothetical discussions of nuclear weapons have focussed on the consequences of megaton attacks, which are implausible. Most nuclear powers have moved toward high-accuracy, lower-yield weapons; new states or terrorists attaining nuclear capabilities are likely to only have low-yield weapons.

Besides real weapons, we've also defined imaginary weapons, for reference purposes, with round-number yields like 100 KT or 1 MT.

Most users will never need to add or change weapon definitions. If you're comfortable with the weapon choices, move on to target selection.

Adding weapons in a hurry

From the weapons list, tap on the New button. Most attributes are pre-set to sensible values. The only one you must set is yield. Enter a yield from 1 ton to 100 megatons and tap on Done.

You could also start with an existing weapon. In either the weapons list or the weapon editor, duplicate it with Record | Duplicate Weapon, and then change the copy.

Adding weapons methodically

ARSENAL

Weapons are categorized by the group owning them. The Internet suffix for the country is used, in capital letters, in the weapons list and when reporting search results. Non-governmental arsenals have been given a lower-case abbreviation.

In the initial release of Fallout Shelter, users cannot change the list of arsenals. If you need to add weapons for a new group or country, use Other or Unfiled.

WEAPON NAME

Weapon names are optional, and can be up to 23 letters long.

DEPLOYMENT

Weapons are also categorized by the mechanism used to deliver it to the target. For now, Fallout Shelter does not use this information, but a future release might to constrain which weapons can be used against a given target.

WARHEADS

In many newer ballistic missiles, the nose of the missile can contain more than one warhead. As the missile descends, the warheads separate. Each can be directed a different target. These missiles are known as MIRV missiles (Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles).

When a new weapon is created in Fallout Shelter, it is initially presumed to contain only one warhead.

YIELD

The yield of a weapon is how much energy it releases. Weapon yields are measured in tons, which was originally short-hand for "equivalent to that many tons of TNT." Now a ton is defined exactly as the release of one billion (10⁹) calories.

A kiloton (KT) is 1000 tons. A megaton (MT) is 1000 KT. The largest weapon ever tested had a yield of 57 MT.

You can define weapons with yields from 1 ton to 100 MT. Most actual current weapons have yields from 100 to 500 KT.

Yield is the only aspect of a weapon that doesn't have a default value. You can create a weapon without setting a yield, but it won't be usable until you set its yield. Incomplete weapon definitions appear in the weapons list with a yield of not done.

Some current weapons have user-selectable yields. Tap on Yield: and select Yields:. You can then enter the lowest and highest yields that the weapon supports.

Fallout Shelter does not currently distinguish between weapons that can produce any yield between the low and high values and ones that can only be set to certain specific yields.

If you want to be sure that only specific yields are accepted, use the Record | Duplicate Weapon command to create separate weapons for each yield. Use names like DF-1 30 KT and DF-1 50 KT to distinguish between them.

CEP

Weapons delivered by missile or aircraft may not arrive at the exact location of their intended target. The circular probable error (CEP) is the standard measurement of a weapon's accuracy. It is the radius of a circle around a target that the weapon will land within half of the time. As technology has improved, CEP has shrunk.

For other means of delivery, the concept of CEP still applies, after a fashion. For example, a terrorist attempting to hide a nuclear weapon near a high-profile target might be forced to place it ½-mile away, thanks to heightened security. This will reduce the damage done to the target but will increase the effect on you, if that half-a-mile was towards you.

Fallout Shelter combines the location you specify for a target with the weapon's CEP and reports the largest effects that might occur, so you can prepare for the worst-possible scenario.

When a new weapon is created in Fallout Shelter, it is initially presumed to have a CEP of 1000 feet.

FISSION VS. FUSION

In nuclear fission, energy is released by the splitting of heavy, radioactive elements. In nuclear fusion, the energy comes from the combining of light elements. The sun warms and lights the Earth through nuclear fusion. Nuclear power plants are fission-only.

High-yield weapons are always fusion devices. The nuclear fusion is triggered by a fission explosion. Variable-yield weapons may have a fission-only yield. Terrorist devices would probably be fission-only because they're easier to build.

The choice affects the portion of the weapon's energy that is released as residual radiation.

New weapons are initially presumed to be fusion devices.

WEAPON STATUS

An active weapon is one that is still in an arsenal. When people think about them, we usually focus on those that are in service, which can be used with little advance notice. There also may be weapons that are stockpiled, and require considerable work to restore to service. A retired weapon has been destroyed altogether. Weapons removed from service due to arms control agreements might be either stockpiled or retired; the choice depends on the exact language of the agreement.

By default, active weapons, both in service and stockpiled, appear in the attack form but retired weapons do not. You can change this in the Preferences dialog.

NOTES

If you want to capture additional information about a weapon, you can add a text memo up to 4096 letters long. If you need more space, let us know.

Introduction

Targets