The Soviet Nuclear Program

Nuclear Weapon Capability: The Soviet Union is believed to possess nuclear weapons that can be delivered, either through known systems or those estimated to be under development. However, some of these weapons may not be optimally designed, and there may be gaps in their knowledge of weapons effects. The Soviets have likely tested short-range army support weapons of low yield, but there could also be larger yield bombs in their stockpile without testing.

Fissionable Material Production - Uranium Ore: Available evidence suggests that the Soviets are expanding their domestic and satellite procurement of uranium ore. By the end of 1960, they had likely obtained around 130,000 metric tons of recoverable uranium, exceeding the amount required for fissionable material production.

Uranium-235: Two identified gaseous diffusion uranium isotope separation plants exist in the USSR, with a probable third plant in the Lake Baikal region. No other large gaseous diffusion uranium-235 plant is believed to be currently operational.

Estimated Uranium-235 Production: By mid-1961, the Soviets had likely produced the equivalent of 76,000 kg of weapon-grade U-235, with the cumulative total expected to reach about 285,000 kg by mid-1966.

Plutonium Equivalent: Two major plutonium-equivalent production sites have been identified, one near Kyshtym in the Urals and the other north of Tomsk in Central Siberia. Additional sites may also produce plutonium-equivalent, but evidence is insufficient to confirm their existence.

Varied Estimates of Plutonium Equivalent Production: Available evidence leads to different estimations of Soviet plutonium-equivalent production. The production is measured in terms of equivalent amounts of plutonium, and planning purposes consider 10 grams of tritium equal to one kilogram of plutonium.