List of nuclear weapons tests of India explained

India's nuclear test series consists of a pair of series: Pokhran I and Pokhran II. Pokhran I was a single nuclear test conducted in 1974.

Picture Description:A cylindrical shaped nuclear bomb, Shakti I, prior to its detonation. One of the bombs used during testing.
Period:May 1974 – May 1998
Number Of Tests:3 (6 Devices fired)
Max Yield:45 kt;
Scale down of 200 kt model
Test Type:Underground tests (underground, underground shaft)
Device Type:Fission and Fusion

Test Series

Pokhran I

Pokhran I
Picture Description:The Indian nuclear test site in Rajasthan is adjacent to its western neighboring country, Pakistan
Country:India
Test Site:Pokhran, Rajasthan, India
Period:1974
Number Of Tests:1
Max Yield:12ktTNT
Next Series:Pokhran II
Device Type:Fission

The India test series summary table is below.

The detonations in the India's Pokhran I series are listed below:

India's Pokhran I series tests and detonations
- !style="background:#ffdead;" Name [1] !style="background:#efefef;" Date time (UT) !style="background:#ffdead;" Local time zone[2] [3] !style="background:#efefef;" Location[4] !style="background:#ffdead;" Elevation + height [5] !style="background:#efefef;" Delivery, [6]
Purpose [7] !style="background:#efefef;" 		Device[8] !style="background:#ffdead;" Yield[9] !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable" Fallout[10] !style="background:#ffdead;" class="unsortable" References !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable" Notes - ! Smiling Buddha 02:34:55.0 IST
(+5.5 hrs) 		Pokhran, India 27.0945°N 71.7537°W 235m (771feet) – 107m (351feet) underground shaft, Indira Gandhi declared Smiling Buddha to be a peaceful test.

Pokhran II

Pokhran II
Picture Description:A cylindrically shaped nuclear bomb, Shakti I, prior to its detonation.
Country:India
Test Site:Pokhran, India
Period:1998
Number Of Tests:3 (5 Devices fired)
Test Type:Underground tests (underground, underground shaft)
Max Yield:45ktTNT

Scale down of 200 kt model
Previous Series:Pokhran I
Device Type:Fission and Fusion

Pokhran II was a group of 2 nuclear tests conducted in 1998.

India's Pokhran II series tests and detonations
- !style="background:#ffdead;" Name [11] !style="background:#efefef;" Date time (UT) !style="background:#ffdead;" Local time zone[12] !style="background:#efefef;" Location[13] !style="background:#ffdead;" Elevation + height [14] !style="background:#efefef;" Delivery, [15]
Purpose [16] !style="background:#efefef;" 		Device[17] !style="background:#ffdead;" Yield[18] !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable" Fallout[19] !style="background:#ffdead;" class="unsortable" References !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable" Notes - ! Shakti 1 - 1 10:13:41.8 IST
(+5.5 hrs) 		Pokhran, India: White House 27.0788°N 71.7223°W 226m (741feet) – 200m (700feet) underground shaft, Two stage thermonuclear device with fusion boosted primary, intended for missile warhead; test design yield 45 kt, with a 200 kt deployed yield. - ! Shakti 1 - 2 10:13:41.8 IST
(+5.5 hrs) 		Pokhran, India: Taj Mahal 27.0788°N 71.7223°W 226m (741feet) – 150m (490feet) underground shaft, Lightweight pure fission tactical bomb/missile warhead, 12 kt design yield; exact locations of sites is unknown. - ! Shakti 1 - 3 10:13:41.8 IST
(+5.5 hrs) 		Pokhran, India: Kumbhkaran 27.0788°N 71.7223°W 226m (741feet) + underground, Fission experimental device, reportedly made with reactor-grade plutonium. Probably a fusion boosted design without the fusion fuel, 0.3 kt design yield; exact locations of sites is unknown. - ! Shakti 2 - 1 06:51:?? IST
(+5.5 hrs) 		Pokhran, India: Navtala 1 27.0735°N 71.7135°W 226m (741feet) – 20m (70feet) underground, A 0.5 kt experimental device; exact locations of sites is unknown. - ! Shakti 2 - 2 06:51:?? IST
(+5.5 hrs) 		Pokhran, India: Navtala 2 27.0735°N 71.7135°W 226m (741feet) + underground, A 0.2 kt experimental device that used uranium-233; exact locations of sites is unknown. - ! Shakti 2 - 3
(canceled) 		06:51:?? IST
(+5.5 hrs) 		Pokhran, India: Navtala 3 27.0734°N 71.7135°W 226m (741feet) + underground, Not fired; another low yield experimental device Exact locations of sites is unknown.

Summary

See also: List of nuclear weapons tests.

India's nuclear testing series summary
- !style="background:#ffdead;" Series or years !style="background:#efefef;" Years covered !style="background:#ffdead;" Tests[20] !style="background:#efefef;" Devices fired !style="background:#ffdead;" Devices with unknown yield !style="background:#efefef;" Peaceful use tests !style="background:#ffdead;" Non-PTBT tests[21] !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable" Yield range (kilotons) [22] !style="background:#ffdead;" Total yield (kilotons) [23] !style="background:#efefef; text-align:center;" class="unsortable" Notes - ! Pokhran I 1974 12 - ! Pokhran–II 1998 small to 45 - class="sortbottom" !style="background:#efefef;" Totals 1974-May-18 to 1998-May-13 4 6 1 0 to 45 70 Total country yield is 0.013% of all nuclear testing.

Notes and References

  1. The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1(with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known.
  2. To convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight saving time, add one additional hour. If the result is earlier than 00:00, add 24 hours and subtract 1 from the day; if it is 24:00 or later, subtract 24 hours and add 1 to the day. Historical time zone data obtained from the IANA time zone database.
  3. Web site: Time Zone Historical Database. iana.com. March 8, 2014.
  4. Rough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area.
  5. Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together.
  6. Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.
  7. Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
  8. Designations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed.
  9. Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
  10. Radioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released.
  11. The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1(with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known.
  12. To convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight saving time, add one additional hour. If the result is earlier than 00:00, add 24 hours and subtract 1 from the day; if it is 24:00 or later, subtract 24 hours and add 1 to the day.
  13. Rough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area.
  14. Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together.
  15. Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.
  16. Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
  17. Designations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed.
  18. Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
  19. Radioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released.
  20. Includes all tests with potential for nuclear fission or fusion explosion, including combat use, singleton tests, salvo tests, zero yield fails, safety experiments, and bombs incapacitated by accidents but still intended to be fired. It does not include hydronuclear and subcritical tests,, and misfires of a device which was subsequently fired successfully.
  21. Number of tests which would have been in violation of the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963, such as atmospheric, space or underwater tests. Some "peaceful use" cratering tests which should have been violations were protested, and later quietly dropped.
  22. "Small" refers to a value greater than zero but less than 0.5 kt.
  23. Some yields are described like "< 20 kt"; such are scored at one half of the numeric amount, i.e., yield of 10k in this example. "Unknown yield" adds nothing to the total.

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