MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. Scientists at the General A. V. Khrulev Military Academy of Logistics have patented a new simulator for a ground-based nuclear explosion. The invention will help prepare ground forces for combat operations in conditions following the use of nuclear weapons, as follows from the description of the patent, available to TASS.

"The purpose of the model is to simulate what a nuclear strike looks like - the shock effect, flash of light and mushroom cloud of a ground-based nuclear explosion," the description says. The invention will be used in exercises and for the practical training of military units to better prepare ground forces for combat operations following the use of nuclear weapons, as well as for instructing radiation, chemical, biological ground reconnaissance forces personnel in how to determine the parameters and epicenter of a nuclear explosion.

According to the scientists, the previous nuclear explosion simulator, the IU-59, is now obsolete and is no longer produced. What’s more, current simulators stored in warehouses are defunct and prohibited from being used. Another simulator mentioned in the description is the IAB-500 aerial bomb, designed to simulate the combat use of the special RN-24 munition (an aerial bomb with a nuclear warhead).

"The disadvantage of the IAB-500 is that this model was developed only for front-line aircraft. For this reason, conducting practical exercises to train radiation, chemical and biological reconnaissance units was not economically feasible, as the cost was much greater than any benefit it could have provided. Also, the IAB-500 model was withdrawn from service in 1984 and is no longer manufactured," the patent says.