US Considers Building Small Nuclear Bomb for Deeply Buried Targets

The US Defense Department is conducting research on the possibility of developing a weak nuclear bomb designed to penetrate underground bunkers, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.

Colonel Steve Campbell said the Pentagon is conducting a review of what would be required to defeat hardened and deeply buried targets, and is examining options that would involve nuclear as well as conventional weapons.

The Pentagon planned to present study results to Congress on July 1, Campbell said.

The bomb, which could hit US adversaries who have headed below ground, was denounced Tuesday by the Federation of American Scientists.

If such a bomb malfunctioned and failed to penetrate deeply enough, it could create a crater emitting a deadly radioactive cloud, the group said in a study on the matter.

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