The so-called 'sub-critical' nuclear test conducted in Nevada on 23
February by the US and UK has aroused suspicions that it may be the
first in a series designed for creating a new generation of nuclear
weapons.
The test, dubbed 'Krakatau', was the 22nd sub-critical explosion at the
site since 1997 and the second US-UK test since February 2002. It
involved detonating high explosives around a plutonium isotope in a
vault about 290 m below ground, and was 'sub-critical' because the
device used a smaller amount of fissile material than would be needed
for a self-sustaining chain reaction.
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