Object
India's 55-kiloton nuclear device (referenced)
A referenced Indian nuclear weapon cited in-dialogue with an approximate yield of 55 kilotons. In the episode the device functions as an authoritative strategic threat whose destructive capacity and fragile command-and-control precipitate urgent policy decisions by Bartlet and senior staff. The source material alternately frames it as a thermonuclear/H-bomb and provides a 55 kt figure; the in-text technical classification is therefore ambiguous, so the canonical description emphasizes the cited yield and narrative role rather than a firm technical label.
2 appearances
Purpose
Deliver a nuclear detonation with approximately 55 kilotons yield as a strategic weapon.
Significance
Joe's stark appraisal of the bomb's yield and fragile command-and-control converts abstract danger into immediate strategic panic, propelling Bartlet to order an unconventional diplomatic gambit (Marbury). The bomb functions as the catalytic threat that exposes institutional fault lines and drives plot action.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used