> Realistically, there is no situation in which the U.S. today would actually make a first use During Operation Desert Storm there was consideration of using n

> Realistically, there is no situation in which the U.S. today would actually make a first use During Operation Desert Storm there was consideration of using nuclear weapons to demolish very-deeply-set bunkers until it was determined that they weren't built under rock sheets. Although technically excellent thanks to Yugoslav and East German expertise, they had been dug-and-covered rather than drilled-out. A GBU-28 conventional penetrator can punch through about 20 feet of rock, whereas a shallow-detonation 400kT B61-11 will crack structures several hundred feet deeper through shock effects. The B61-11 remains in the inventory and has now been supplemented by the penetrating B61-12. I wouldn't rule-out first use of either type in the face of suitably challenging targets.