In a test bizarrely named "Divine Strake" and planned for Jun. 2 "in a high desert valley bounded by mountains," a "gigantic 700-ton explosive" will be detonated 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, the Washington Post reported on Mar. 31. -- (NOTE: The principal meanings of strake, a cognate of stretch, refer to various strips of material used to reinforce cartwheels, plows, and the hulls of ships, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.) -- "Divine Strake" will be "the biggest open-air chemical blast ever at the Nevada Test Site."[1] -- The explosive to be detonated Jun. 2 is a "heavy ammonium nitrate-fuel oil emulsion," Ann Scott Tyson reported. -- The explosion will be "in a 36-foot-deep hole near a tunnel in the center of the Nevada Test Site, according to official reports. It aims to allow scientists to model the type of ground shock that will be created, and to weigh the effectiveness of such a weapon against its collateral impact." -- Supposedly, "such a bomb would be a conventional alternative to a nuclear weapon proposed by the Bush administration, which has run into opposition on Capitol Hill," Tyson recalled. -- "The Pentagon for several years has sought funding for research into the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) -- also known as the 'bunker buster' -- after the administration's 2001 Nuclear Posture Review stated that no weapon in the U.S. arsenal could threaten a growing number of buried targets. Congress, however, has repeatedly refused to grant funding for a study on a nuclear bunker buster, instead directing money toward conventional alternatives." -- But how could the Pentagon possibly hope to place a 700-ton bomb in a hole 36 feet beneath the ground in hostile territory? -- And if this is not feasible, what might be the point of carrying out the test? -- On Apr. 7, the Post followed up its Mar. 31 article with a piece on the Pentagon's denial that one of the purposes of the test was to simulate a low-yield nuclear explosion, "even though government budget documents had described it that way."[2] -- James Tegnelia, director of the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency, also had to apologize for describing the test to reporters as a blast that would create a "mushroom cloud" over Nevada. -- "Confusion over whether the test was related to nuclear research was created on [Apr. 4]," Ann Scott Tyson of the Washington Post reported, "when DTRA officials confirmed that Divine Strake was the same as the 'tunnel target defeat' test described in 2005 and 2006 budget documents. Those documents said it was designed to 'simulate a low yield nuclear weapon ground shock environment,' and help the military select 'the smallest proper nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities.' -- On [Apr. 5], however, Smith said that, although DTRA was not 'disavowing' the budget documents, 'things change. That has changed and the wording got left in' improperly, she said, meaning the references to 'nuclear.'" -- There was some talk of Nevada state officials forcing the test to be called off, but on Apr. 14 KLAS-TV of Las Vegas reported that Nevada "state officials say they will meet Nevada's air quality regulations."[3] -- (NOTE: It should be pointed out that the term "bunker buster" is sometimes used to refer to munitions already in the U.S. arsenal. -- There's the BLU-109 bomb, for instance, 500 of which were in 2004 sold to Israel for possible use against Iran. -- Then there's the GBU-28 "bunker buster," 100 of which were sold to Israel in 2005, according to the Financial Times of London and Haaretz, which noted that "The GBU-28 was developed for penetrating hardened command centers located deep underground and would be used by the Israeli Air Force on their U.S.-built F-15 aircraft." -- Thousands of other heavy, precision-guided bombs have also been "sold" to Israel in recent years.) ...
1.
Nation
National Security
PENTAGON TO TEST A HUGE CONVENTIONAL BOMB
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post
March 31, 2006
Page A09
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/30/AR2006033001735.html
A huge mushroom cloud of dust is expected to rise over Nevada's desert in June when the Pentagon plans to detonate a gigantic 700-ton explosive -- the biggest open-air chemical blast ever at the Nevada Test Site -- as part of the research into developing weapons that can destroy deeply buried military targets, officials said yesterday.
The test, code-named "Divine Strake," will occur on June 2 about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas in a high desert valley bounded by mountains, according to Pentagon and Energy Department officials.
"This is the largest single explosive we could imagine doing," said James A. Tegnelia, director of the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which is conducting the test.
The test is aimed at determining how well a massive conventional bomb would perform against fortified underground targets -- such as military headquarters, biological or chemical weapons stockpiles, and long-range missiles -- that the Pentagon says are proliferating among potential adversaries around the world.
Tegnelia said there is a range of technical hurdles to overcome. He suggested that big conventional bombs are unlikely to solve the overall problem of buried threats. "It's a lot easier to dig your tunnel 50 feet deeper" than to develop weapons that can destroy it, he told a meeting of defense reporters.
Such a bomb would be a conventional alternative to a nuclear weapon proposed by the Bush administration, which has run into opposition on Capitol Hill. The Pentagon for several years has sought funding for research into the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) -- also known as the "bunker buster" -- after the administration's 2001 Nuclear Posture Review stated that no weapon in the U.S. arsenal could threaten a growing number of buried targets. Congress, however, has repeatedly refused to grant funding for a study on a nuclear bunker buster, instead directing money toward conventional alternatives.
The June test will detonate 700 tons of heavy ammonium nitrate-fuel oil emulsion -- creating a blast equivalent to 593 tons of TNT -- in a 36-foot-deep hole near a tunnel in the center of the Nevada Test Site, according to official reports. It aims to allow scientists to model the type of ground shock that will be created, and to weigh the effectiveness of such a weapon against its collateral impact.
"To my knowledge, this will be the largest open-air chemical explosion that we've conducted," said Darwin Morgan, spokesman for the Energy Department's test site. Larger blasts have been carried out at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, including the nation's biggest open-air detonation, in 1985, a Pentagon spokeswoman said.
The blast is not likely to be felt or heard outside the 1,375-square-mile test site, and the cloud of dust is expected to dissipate quickly from view, Morgan said. "They don't think people will see it in the base camp on the south end of the test site," he said.
Officials took pains to differentiate between the June conventional experiment and past nuclear testing. "The U.S. has no plans to conduct a nuclear test. President Bush supports a continued moratorium on nuclear testing," said Irene Smith, a spokeswoman for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The Pentagon agency is charged with countering threats to the United States from chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons.
On a related topic, Tegnelia said the State Department and the Pentagon are developing a proposal for a $100 million effort to help Libya get rid of tons of mustard gas and some precursor chemicals being stored in the Libyan desert. "The Libyans requested some support" from the U.S. government, and a DTRA team has visited Libya to consider various options for eliminating the weapons, he said.
2.
Nation
National Security
PENTAGON CLARIFIES NEVADA INTENT
By Ann Scott Tyson
** Explosives Test Not 'Nuclear' **
Washington Post
April 7, 2006
Page A12
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/06/AR2006040601916.html
Pentagon officials apologized to members of Congress yesterday for generating fears about an unusual military experiment to detonate 700 tons of explosives in the Nevada desert in June, and they said the test was not designed to simulate a low-yield nuclear explosion, even though government budget documents had described it that way.
Officials said the test, code-named Divine Strake, is part of research to "determine the potential for future non-nuclear concepts" -- such as high-energy weapons or the simultaneous use of multiple conventional bombs to destroy deeply buried and fortified military targets. They said the budget documents' references to simulating a nuclear explosion were in error.
Last week James Tegnelia, director of the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency, described the test to defense reporters as a massive blast that would create a "mushroom cloud" of dust over Nevada. Tegnelia offered his regrets for the remark when he met yesterday on Capitol Hill with Nevada lawmakers, who voiced concern about safety issues, environmental impact, and their lack of full knowledge about the test.
"While I am glad Dr. Tegnelia took this opportunity to apologize for causing alarm with his mushroom-cloud comment, the real purpose of this meeting was to ensure that . . . there is no safety threat to southern Nevada residents," Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) said after meeting with Tegnelia.
The test is scheduled for June 2 about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas in a high desert valley bounded by mountains in the Energy Department's Nevada Test Site. The test will ignite the equivalent of 593 tons of TNT in a 36-foot-deep hole near a tunnel in order to measure the ground shock and damage created at different levels of depth, according to Tegnelia and an official environmental assessment. The test is aimed at providing tools to better understand how different types of weapons would work against fortified underground targets -- such as military headquarters, biological or chemical weapons stockpiles, and long-range missiles -- that the Pentagon says are proliferating among potential adversaries around the world.
The controversy over the test was fueled this week by conflicting statements from DTRA as to whether research from the blast had applications only to conventional weapons, or also to nuclear devices.
Tegnelia has consistently described the test as applying solely to conventional weapons. "The purpose of the test is to advance conventional weapons," he said in an interview Wednesday.
He acknowledged that it would not be feasible for the U.S. military to create or deliver a single conventional bomb large enough to duplicate Divine Strake's huge blast -- and that the only U.S. weapon today capable of destroying such a tunnel would be a nuclear device. "If you had to do it today . . . and you have to break this tunnel, and you're going to have to do it with one pass and one weapon, the physics says the only way you can do it is with a nuclear weapon."
But he said that the test could help determine the damage if an underground target were struck simultaneously with multiple conventional bombs. "You can't do it with one, but you might be able to do it with multiple efforts," he said.
Another purpose of the test is to gauge the potential of "advanced conventional explosives with much higher energy" or "high energetic explosives," said DTRA spokeswoman Irene Smith.
Confusion over whether the test was related to nuclear research was created on Tuesday, when DTRA officials confirmed that Divine Strake was the same as the "tunnel target defeat" test described in 2005 and 2006 budget documents. Those documents said it was designed to "simulate a low yield nuclear weapon ground shock environment," and help the military select "the smallest proper nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities."
On Wednesday, however, Smith said that, although DTRA was not "disavowing" the budget documents, "things change. That has changed and the wording got left in" improperly, she said, meaning the references to "nuclear." Tegnelia's office did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.
3.
'DIVINE STRAKE' EXPLOSION GETS GREEN LIGHT
KLAS-TV (Las Vegas)
April 14, 2006
http://www.klastv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4767143&nav=168XDWn7
The planned explosion at the Nevada Test Site will go on as planned afterall.
State regulators raised questioned about pollution and hazardous material from the Divine Strake blast, but state officials say they will meet Nevada's air quality regulations.
The Nevada Test Site has a blasting permit to set off a 700-ton non-nuclear explosion.
State officials say they will not block the Defense Threat Reduction agency from the experiment, which is scheduled for June 2.