Ras Koh Test Site
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A backgrounder
OTHER NAME: Chagai-1
LOCATION: Ras Koh Mountain Range, Chagai District, Baluchistan Province
SUBORDINATE TO: Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)
SIZE: Unknown
FACILITY STATUS: No further tests conducted
After Pakistan's December 1971 defeat against India, President Z.A. Bhutto instructed scientists from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) to begin building a nuclear weapon. Following India's nuclear test on 18 May 1974, Pakistan accelerated its program. In the spring of 1976, the PAEC group surveyed the Chagai Hills region, and finding it suitable for a test, selected a site at the Ras Koh mountain range.
In response to India's 11 May and 13 May 1998 nuclear weapon tests, Pakistan quickly finished preparations for its first test. On 28 May 1998, Pakistan claims to have detonated five nuclear weapons at the Ras Koh Site. While Pakistan claimed the tests produced up to a 35 kiloton yield, the number of explosions and yields was hotly debated in the intelligence community. No further tests have been conducted.
