Suitcase nuke A suitcase nuke ( also suitcase bomb , backpack nuke , snuke , mini - nuke , and pocket nuke ) is a tactical nuclear weapon which uses , or is portable enough that it could use a suitcase as its delivery method . Thus far , only the United States and the Soviet Union / Russian Federation are known to have possessed nuclear weapons programs developed and funded well enough to manufacture miniaturized nuclear weapons . Both the United States and the Soviet Union have acknowledged producing nuclear weapons small enough to be carried in specially - designed backpacks during the Cold War , but neither have ever made public the existence or development of weapons small enough to fit into a normal - sized suitcase or briefcase . It has also been reported that Israel has produced nuclear warheads small enough to fit into a suitcase . Overview . The Center for Defense Information ( CDI ) claims that a detailed training replica — with dummy explosives and no fissionable material — was routinely concealed inside a briefcase and hand - carried on domestic airline flights in the early 1980s . While the explosive power of the W54 — up to an equivalent of 6 kiloton of TNT ( though the more common yield was much lower ) — is not much by the normal standards of a nuclear weapon ( the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II were around 16 to 21 kilotons each ) , their value lies in their ability to be easily smuggled across borders , transported by means widely available , and placed as close to the target as possible . Similar - sized weapons . In nuclear weapon design , there is a tradeoff in small weapons designs between weight and compact size . Extremely small ( as small as diameter and long ) linear implosion type weapons , which might conceivably fit in a large briefcase or typical suitcase , have been tested , but the lightest of those are nearly and had a maximum yield of only a fraction of a kiloton ( 190 tons ) . The largest yield of a relatively compact linear implosion device was under 2 kilotons for the cancelled ( or never deployed , but apparently tested ) US W82 - 1 artillery shell design , with yield under 2 kilotons for a artillery shell in diameter and long . Russian . The highest - ranking GRU defector Stanislav Lunev claimed that such Russian - made devices do exist and described them in more detail . These devices , " identified as RA - 115s ( or RA - 115 - 01s for submersible weapons ) " weigh from fifty to sixty pounds . They can last for many years if wired to an electric source . In case there is a loss of power , there is a battery backup . If the battery runs low , the weapon has a transmitter that sends a coded message — either by satellite or directly to a GRU post at a Russian embassy or consulate . ” According to Lunev , the number of " missing " nuclear devices ( as found by General Lebed ) " is almost identical to the number of strategic targets upon which those bombs would be used . " Lunev suggested that suitcase nukes might be already deployed by the GRU operatives on US soil to assassinate US leaders in the event of war . He alleged that arms caches were hidden by the KGB in many countries for the planned terrorism acts . They were booby - trapped with " Lightning " explosive devices . One such cache , identified by Vasili Mitrokhin , exploded when Swiss authorities tried to remove it from a wooded area near Bern . Several others caches were removed successfully . Lunev said that he had personally looked for hiding places for weapons caches in the Shenandoah Valley area and that " it is surprisingly easy to smuggle nuclear weapons into the US " either across the Mexican border or using a small transport missile that can slip undetected when launched from a Russian airplane . US Congressman Curt Weldon supported claims by Lunev but noted that Lunev had " exaggerated things " according to the FBI . Searches of the areas identified by Lunev have been conducted , " but law - enforcement officials have never found such weapons caches , with or without portable nuclear weapons . " American . The lightest nuclear warhead ever acknowledged to have been manufactured by the U . S . is the W54 , which was used in both the Davy Crockett 120 mm recoilless rifle – launched warhead , and the backpack - carried version called the Mk - 54 SADM ( Special Atomic Demolition Munition ) . The bare warhead package was an 11 in by 16 in ( 28 cm by 41 cm ) cylinder that weighed 51 lbs ( 23 kg ) . It was , however , small enough to fit in a footlocker - sized container . In 1994 the United States Congress passed " The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 " , preventing the government from developing nuclear weapons with a yield of less than 5 kilotons , thereby making the official development of these weapons in the U . S . unlikely . This law was , however , repealed in the " National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 " .