Kharan Desert (Urdu: خاران) is a mountainous desert located in Kharan District, Balochistan, Pakistan. Kharan desert is Pakistan's second nuclear test site, operated by the PAEC. Most of it's territory was in the Sandy Desert, but included also parts of the Central Makran Range.
Contents |
Nuclear Site
The construction of Kharan Desert nuclear test site took 2–3 years to prepare and were completed in 1980, before Pakistan acquired the capability to develop a nuclear weapon. The facility was indengiously constructed by the PAEC under the leadership of Chairman Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan who assigned this task to Member (Techncial), PAEC, Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad[1].
Kharan-I
Pakistan's second nuclear test were performed in the Kharan desert in 1998 May 30 of a miniaturised device yielding 60 percent of the Ras Koh Hills tests. The yeild of a nuclear device was reported to be 20-40 kt [2] The nuclear devices were successfully tested by the Dr. Samar Mubarakmand. Kharan desert's climate and temperature is highly dry and reported to be the one of the extreme weather area of Pakistan. During the Winter season, the desert is reported to be freezed to the freezing point. The test site at Kharan was 300 by 200 feet and was L-shaped
References
- ^ http://www.defencejournal.com/2000/june/chagai.htm
- ^ When Mountains Move – The Story of Chagai RAI MUHAMMAD SALEH AZAM, defencejournal.com
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
