Nazi Germany had no hope of making an atomic bomb, uranium cubes reveal

How many articles have been written about this subject? Many! According to Google Search "the subject comprises thousands of academic papers, books, and historical studies published over the last eight decades."

How close did Hitler ever come to developing an atomic bomb? What was actually known as fact at the time? Will these speculations ever end?

Did not some German scientists actually delay or sabotage the effort/project? I don't remember the details anymore.

What was the effect e.g. the exodus of Jewish scientists?

Nazi Germany had no hope of making an atomic bomb, uranium cubes reveal | Science | AAAS "Experimental reactor needed much more uranium and heavy water than the country could muster"

Extensive and large nuclear weapons testing by North Korea resulted in long-term seismological activity

Concerning! Why the heck did North Korea need so many nuclear weapons tests? Since 2018, North Korea issued a moratorium on such testing.

"North Korea conducted six underground nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017 at the Punggye-ri test site.

The largest, final explosion was an equivalent magnitude 6.3 seismic event and deformed the mountaintop by about 3 meters.

Most studies have focused on characterizing the explosion events, but Fan et al. took a longer view. Their 17-year earthquake catalog identified about 1400 local earthquakes between 2008 and 2025, with a notable acceleration of events and magnitudes after the 2017 test. Delayed reactivation of shallow faults indicates that cumulative damage from the explosions has redistributed crustal stress in the region."

"... They show that these explosions have the potential to reactivate seismically quiet faults and produce earthquakes that may be difficult to distinguish from naturally occurring tectonic activity. ..."

From the abstract:

"Underground nuclear explosions typically produce short-lived seismic sequences that decay rapidly after testing ceases.

By contrast, seismicity near the Punggye-ri nuclear test site at Mt. Mantap in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has persisted and intensified for years after the final large-yield explosion in 2017, evolving from diffuse activity to spatially organized distribution along fault-controlled structures. Analysis of 17 years of continuous waveform data reveals a progressive increase in seismicity and delayed reactivation of shallow faults. Earthquakes cluster beneath asymmetric topography, indicating progressive stress redistribution within a critically stressed crustal volume. These observations challenge conventional expectations, showing that under specific geological conditions, underground nuclear testing can drive multiyear fault reactivation and extend posttest seismicity well beyond the immediate aftermath of an explosion."

In Science Journals | Science

Mt. Mantap nuclear testing triggered delayed seismicity via fault reactivation

Nuclear tests at Mt. Mantap have reactivated intraplate faults (no public access)

Distribution of earthquakes around North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site (Source)

President Trump Goes Nuclear, Prepares for War with China, Russia based on tactical nuclear weapons with Molly Gambhir

Serious stuff!

What is the difference to the Cold War? Do tactical nuclear weapons lower the threshold preventing their use in future wars?

(965) Trump Goes Nuclear, Prepares for War with China, Russia | GRAVITAS - YouTube

Japan Mulls Changes to Non-Nuclear Rules

Serious stuff!

(482) Japan Mulls Changes to Non-Nuclear Rules | WION News - YouTube

China Has Quietly Accepted a Nuclear North Korea

A concerning development if confirmed!

Did China indeed relent to the evolving closer cooperation between two rogue states, i.e. Russia under Putin the Terrible and North Korea?

"Xi Jinping has made a consequential strategic choice. Faced with Kim Jong Un’s growing partnership with Vladimir Putin, Xi is rebuilding Chinese political and economic support for North Korea and abandoning the pretense that Beijing is seriously pursuing its denuclearization.

The result will not be a more restrained Kim. It will be a more dangerous one.

Kim is now positioned to draw military assistance and treaty protection from Russia while continuing to receive the trade, money and political backing that only China can provide. As his nuclear arsenal and conventional forces improve, he will have stronger incentives to take risks against South Korea and the United States. Most alarmingly, should China initiate a conflict over Taiwan, Kim could see an opportunity to exploit America’s distraction. ...

For years, Chinese officials claimed that Beijing wanted both stability and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. Stability was always the higher priority, but China at least supported denuclearization negotiations and some efforts to constrain North Korea’s weapons programs.

That policy is effectively over.

During Xi’s June 2026 visit to Pyongyang, the first by a Chinese leader in seven years, Xi  omitted any meaningful reference to denuclearization. Premier of North Korea Pak Thae-song met with Xi in early July, where Xi again did not mention denuclearization. The silence was striking.

These instances followed other notable omissions, including at the 2025 North Korea-China summit.

The last time a Chinese official explicitly called for North Korean denuclearization was in May 2024 at the South Korea-China-Japan trilateral summit.  Beijing has tacitly accepted North Korea as a permanent nuclear power, hoping that in exchange it will regain influence over Kim.

Xi’s shift reflects the emergence of Kim’s “Russia option.”

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine [in 2022], North Korea has become an important supplier of artillery ammunition, ballistic missiles and military personnel to Moscow. In return, Russia has offered Kim economic support, diplomatic protection, military cooperation and assistance with missiles, satellites, air defenses and other advanced capabilities. Their 2024 comprehensive strategic partnership treaty includes a mutual-assistance commitment. ..."

China Has Quietly Accepted a Nuclear North Korea | American Enterprise Institute - AEI

The Strange Defeat of Nuclear Deterrence in 2025

Food for thought! How vulnerable have nuclear weapons become in the age of drone warfare?

"In June 2025, Ukraine’s security services staged an audacious strike inside Russia. They infiltrated the country and hid short-range attack drones in cargo trucks near a slew of Russian air bases as far away as the Amur region on the border with China. Most of these bases were home to Russian strategic heavy bombers—aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Using Russia’s mobile phone network, Ukrainian operatives remotely launched the drones, successfully destroying at least ten of the bombers and damaging a total of 41 planes, including some used for nuclear command and control, according to Ukrainian assessments. ..."

The Strange Defeat of Nuclear Deterrence | Foreign Affairs "And the Coming Crisis in Strategic Stability"

Putin’s Russia declares Strategic Fleet Of Nuclear Warships/submarines in 'full combat readiness mode.' (about 900 nuclear warheads)

Concerning! What is this sable rattling by Putin the Terrible all about at this time?

What is this megalomaniac and warmonger up to?

(482) Putin’s Russia Makes Strategic Fleet Of Nuclear Warships Battle Ready | Vantage on Firstpost | 4K - YouTube

Researcher proposes a way to detect nuclear weapons in space

Good news! However, this proposed detection system seems to be very slow and works only in close proximity of a satellite containing a nuclear weapon.

"In 2024, a U.S. government official warned that Russia could be developing a new satellite designed to carry nuclear weapons into space. The statement followed the launch of a suspicious Russian satellite into low-Earth orbit in 2022, just a few weeks before the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A nuclear detonation in low-Earth orbit — the region about 100 miles to 1,200 miles above Earth’s surface — would release trillions of highly energetic electrons that would destroy many of the satellites in space, disrupting telecommunications networks, GPS, space-based internet, and more.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans the placement of nuclear weapons in space, but there’s currently no way to verify satellites don’t contain nuclear weapons. In fact, no verification methods have even been proposed in unclassified, peer-reviewed literature. ...

In the paper, Danagoulian calculates that a sensor system the size of a large encyclopedia could detect a nuclear weapon with 99 percent accuracy if it orbited within 4,000 meters of the suspect satellite for about a week. He also estimates that the detection time could be cut to a matter of hours if multiple satellite sensors were used or the sensor satellite was able to get within 1,000 meters of the suspect satellite. ..."

From the abstract:

"The Outer Space Treaty (OST) was opened to signatures in 1967 and, since then, 117 countries, including China, the USA and Russia, have become part of it. Among other stipulations, the treaty bans the placement of nuclear weapons in outer space.

Recently, the US government has raised worries that Russia is testing nuclear-armed anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) components, with the possibility that it will place a nuclear weapon in space.

Such a device, if detonated, would destroy most of the satellites in the low Earth orbit. This danger is compounded by the lack of a verification mechanism for the OST.

No methodologies of verification have been proposed in the open peer-reviewed literature.

Here a concept and feasibility study is presented for verifying a satellite’s compliance to the OST by observing the neutrons induced by spallation from the approximately GeV protons in the inner Van Allen radiation belts.

The calculations show that a 9U-CubeSat-sized detection platform can identify a thermonuclear weapon from a distance of 4 km in approximately one week of observation. This conceptual study will stimulate and inform future research and development of verification platforms for the OST."

MIT researcher proposes a way to detect nuclear weapons in space | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology "The 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans nuclear weapons in space, but there’s currently no way to verify that satellites aren’t carrying them."

Detection schemes could deter putting nuclear warheads in space

Verification of the Outer Space Treaty with cosmic protons (no public access)

Verification of the Outer Space Treaty with Cosmic Protons (preprint, open access)

Chinese submarine launched ballistic missile test is said to undermine nuclear weapons-free zone in South Pacific

Concerning stuff! More sable rattling by the Communist Party of China? Was this necessary?

"China’s test this week of a submarine-launched ballistic missile follows a growing trend of nuclear powers hollowing out the integrity of nuclear weapons-free zones such as the South Pacific, analysts say.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy launched a ballistic missile from a submarine off its coast on Monday, which subsequently flew southeast over the Pacific for about 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles), according to a map released by the Taiwan National Security Council, before splashing down near the island nations of Nauru and Tuvalu. ..."

"China’s rare launch of a ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the deep Pacific sent a strategic signal to the United States and regional neighbours, particularly Japan, amid concerns about Beijing’s military expansion. ..."

Chinese ballistic missile test is said to undermine nuclear weapons-free zone in South Pacific

What does China’s submarine missile test mean for its nuclear triad expansion? "More than a technical milestone, undersea launch sends strategic signal to the US and Beijing’s neighbours in Asia-Pacific, analysts say"

Flight pass of the SLBM (The X post did not allow to copy the image so I took a screenshot of it! Grrr!)

A test missile is fired from a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine towards the Pacific Ocean on Monday.

Norway becomes ninth country to sign up for French nuclear deterrence

Good news! About time!

"... Norway will not host nuclear weapons in peacetime ... But the new French doctrine, which was announced ... by Emmanuel Macron, the country’s president ... in March, promises to link existential threats to European allies to a French nuclear response even if the U.S. may disengage. All decision-making powers will remain in Paris, as will the control over nuclear weapons. France would, in effect, act as a protective power for Europe. ...

Others are farther along: The discussions in Poland, for example, envision a possible role for forward deployment of French nuclear-capable Rafale aircraft.

The nuclear-deterrence framework is perhaps most mature in Germany: The two countries formed a steering group on the issue earlier this year, promising first concrete steps by the end of 2026. ...

France is one of five countries permitted under international treaties to possess nuclear weapons, and one of nine that actually do. At around 290 warheads, the French nuclear arsenal is the fourth-largest in the world, after China, the U.S. and Russia, and ahead of the U.K."

Norway becomes ninth country to sign up for French nuclear deterrence as trust in US falters "President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative is gaining steam, as German officials plan to observe French nuclear operations."

China Expanding Nuclear Sites Near Indian border? With Palki Sharma

Serious stuff! What is Xi Jinping up to?

(246) China Expanding Nuclear Sites Near Arunachal Pradesh? | Vantage With Palki Sharma - YouTube

Last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between US and Russia to expire on 2/5/2026 called START or what about a new nuclear arms race!

Please no hysteria and alarmism as long as both parties continue to uphold the limits!

As this video points out, a new treaty may have to include China, India, and Pakistan!

U.S.-Iran: U.S. Deploys 'Nuke Sniffer' in UK Amid Iran War Drums

President Trump is serious about Iran!

Declassified Putin-Bush Jr. Transcripts Nail Pakistan's Nuclear Lies with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! Bush and Mush!

China’s Nuclear Buildup Alarms US Amid Fears of Three-Way Arms Race with Palki Sharma

Serious stuff! A nuclear arms treaty between the US and Russia is expiring early next year. Will there be a new nuclear arms race? This with China too?

Air Force Conducts Unarmed ICBM Launch as Trump Ponders Nuclear Tests

Is that what the recent alarmism and hysteria about the US resuming nuclear tests is all about? 😊

"Air Force Global Strike Command tested an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile in the early hours of Nov. 5, the service announced.

The test, the latest in a series of launches that have been carried out at regular intervals for decades, came as Russian President Vladimir Putin has touted the development of two new nuclear weapons and President Donald Trump has suggested in recent days that the U.S. might resume nuclear testing. ..."

Air Force Conducts Unarmed ICBM Test Launch

Putin Unleashes 3 Nuclear Weapons: A Message for Trump? with Palki Sharma

Putin the Terrible rattles the sable!

Trump Orders US Military to Resume Nuclear Testing with Palki Sharma

Maybe it is time again to open up new international negotiations about the future of nuclear weapons! E.g. Iran, North Korea are bad actors. There is also a question of whether nuclear weapons need to be tested from time to time. Palki failed to explore these questions!

Russian President Putin the Terrible signed a law formally withdrawing from the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement

Where is Putin the Terrible going with that? Is he just sable rattling?

"Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law formally withdrawing from the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement with the U.S., according to a decree published on Oct. 27. The agreement obligated both countries to dispose of 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium."

"... Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law formally withdrawing from the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement with the U.S., according to a decree published on Oct. 27.

The 2000 agreement obligated both countries to dispose of 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium — enough for thousands of nuclear warheads — no longer required for defense purposes.

Following the end of the Cold War, both Russia and the U.S. dismantled thousands of warheads, leaving costly stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium and raising proliferation risks.

Under the deal, the plutonium was to be processed into fuel for civilian nuclear power plants. Russia ratified the agreement in 2011, with implementation initially planned to begin in 2018.

Moscow suspended its participation in 2016, accusing Washington of violating its obligations. ..."

Tuesday, October 28, 2025 - Join The Flyover

Russia withdraws from US deal to dispose of plutonium for thousands of warheads

Chart of the day

Global nuclear arms build up between 2018-2025

As long as individuals like Putin the Terrible of Russia and the Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un of North Korea are in power you better keep praying and hoping!

As long as an Ayatollah rules Iran (e.g. a global sponsor of Islamic, suicidal terrorism) is in power, we better prevent Iran from ever obtaining nuclear weapons!

Source