Nuclear warhead

"You’re only gonna have thirty seconds once you release it before it explodes. You need to get as far away as you can." "Get as far away from the nuclear explosion as possible – that’s good advice, Rodney, thanks!"

- Rodney McKay and John Sheppard

A nuclear warhead is a powerful weapon which derives its destructive power from nuclear reactions, and with a naquadah enhancement the explosive force can be greatly increased.

Nukes however are only effective against vessels or structures which do not have sufficiently powerful shielding. The shielding technology of the Lanteans or Asurans is impervious to them.

Nuclear weapons are the most powerful type of offensive weapon which are natively available to the Tau'ri.

History and uses
Jack O'Neill attempted to destroy the Abydos Stargate with a nuclear warhead, but Ra took the weapon and prepared to send it back through the gate to Earth. However, O'Neill and Daniel Jackson used a ring transporter to send the bomb aboard Ra's ship while it was in orbit above the planet.

When George Hammond discovered the Abydos Stargate was still standing, he planned to send another, more powerful, bomb through, but Jack O'Neill persuaded him otherwise.

After George Hammond is forced to retire in 2000, his replacement Major General Bauer orders Samantha Carter to build and test a nuclear bomb which utilized Naquadah as its fissionable material. When the device is detonated on a test planet, the results are disastrous, and nearly result in the loss of the SGC.

The Daedalus has used nuclear warheads and Asgard transporters to destroy Wraith hive ships, but their success has been limited since the Wraith developed jamming codes. They also have been used to fake a self-destruct of Atlantis.

For several years, the Genii have been researching nuclear weapons.

Nuclear warheads are controversial on Earth because of their destructive power. Elizabeth Weir began her career by campaigning against the proliferation of these and other weapons. Radek Zelenka may share this view as well, as he says the creation of nuclear warheads was not science's proudest moment.

When Ladon Radim planned his coup, he knew he needed to eliminate Cowen and his elite personal guard in order to succeed so he laid a trap using the Atlantis Expedition and the chance to get Puddle Jumpers to get them in one place on M6R-867 where he planted a nuclear bomb that he, as the chief scientist, had made. He initially planned to let the expedition members that were there die in the explosion, but after learning that the people he'd sent to Atlantis which included his sister could be saved, he changed his mind and freed the team. The nuclear warhead went off killing Cowen and his personal guard.

During the Battle of the ZPM powered Hive Ship, Colonel Sheppard had a bunch of F-302s equiped with nukes in an effort to launch a first strike and destroy the hive ship. The attempt had to be aborted when the hive launched Darts to take out Area 51 and all but Sheppard's 302 were destroyed. Sheppard planned to use his nuke to complete the mission by blasting his way into the hive's Dart Bay, landing and detonating the nuke on the inside of the hive ship, figuring it would destroy it if detonated on the inside. Sheppard succesfully got in and prepared to detonate his nuke, but before he could he was stopped by McKay who rigged up a remote detonator to the nuke. As they escaped through the hive ship's Stargate, Sheppard detonated the nuke, destroying the ZPM powered hive ship.

Alternate realities

 * In an alternate reality Jack O'Neill wiped out the population of Chulak with a nuclear warhead.

Types of Tau'ri nuclear warheads

 * Mark III
 * BFMB Mark V bomb
 * Mark VIII
 * Mark IX
 * Goa'uld-buster
 * Horizon