Soviet Atomic Test: RDS-3I Yield Boosted To 62 Kilotons With Neutron Initiator

Soviet Atomic Test: RDS-3I Yield Boosted To 62 Kilotons With Neutron Initiator

On October 23, 1954, the Soviet Union conducted a pivotal nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan, detonating the RDS-3I atomic bomb. This test was a significant technological step in the Soviet nuclear weapons program, as it successfully demonstrated the use of an external source of neutron initiation, dramatically increasing the weapon’s destructive yield. The test, which was a clear demonstration of the Soviet Union’s advanc…