Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

  • Policy Issues
    • Fact Sheets
    • Countries
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Non-Proliferation
    • Nuclear Security
    • Biological & Chemical Weapons
    • Defense Spending
    • Missile Defense
    • No First Use
  • Nukes of Hazard
    • Podcast
    • Blog
    • Videos
  • Join Us
  • Press
  • About
    • Staff
    • Boards & Experts
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Financials and Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Search
You are here: Home / Asia / India and Pakistan / The Brasstacks Crisis

November 16, 2022

The Brasstacks Crisis

The Brasstacks Crisis was a nuclear scare between Pakistan and India following an Indian military exercise that lasted from November 1986 to January 1987. More than half a million men comprising 10 divisions and three brigades were involved — more than any NATO exercise or national exercise since World War II. Pakistani diplomats and scientists warned that the country was ready to launch a nuclear attack if India pressed forward. Pakistani forces deployed in defensive positions in response to the exercise and squared off with their Indian rivals within firing range of one another on the border lands.

The crisis arose from conflicting perceptions behind India’s military exercise. The Indian general who led the operation maintained that the goal of Brasstacks was to test new concepts of mechanization, mobility and air support. Pakistani military analysts feared that the military exercise was in fact a ruse for a conventional operation that sought to dismember Pakistan.

This operation’s massive scale concerned leaders in Pakistan and prompted them to place the country’s nuclear installations on high alert. Top Pakistani Nuclear Scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan heightened tensions when he revealed in an interview in March 1987 that, “Pakistan would use its atomic weapons if its existence was threatened.” Indian diplomats also claimed that they were warned that Pakistan would use a nuclear weapon if attacked.

Posted in: India and Pakistan

Tweets by Nukes of Hazard

Recent Posts

  • Evolving Threats, Un-evolving Solutions: Geo-Politicization of Export Control Policy March 17, 2023
  • Fact Sheet: The Australia Group March 16, 2023
  • Fact Sheet: Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones March 14, 2023
  • Fact Sheet: The Wassenaar Arrangement March 8, 2023
  • Covid Lab Leak Fight Obscures the Global Rise of High-Security Biolabs March 8, 2023
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

820 1st Street NE, Suite LL-180
Washington, D.C. 20002
Phone: 202.546.0795

Issues

  • Fact Sheets
  • Countries
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Non-Proliferation
  • Nuclear Security
  • Defense Spending
  • Biological and Chemical Weapons
  • Missile Defense
  • No First Use

Countries

  • China
  • France
  • India and Pakistan
  • Iran
  • Israel
  • North Korea
  • Russia
  • United Kingdom

Explore

  • Nukes of Hazard blog
  • Nukes of Hazard podcast
  • Nukes of Hazard videos
  • Front and Center
  • Fact Sheets

About

  • About
  • Meet the Staff
  • Boards & Experts
  • Press
  • Jobs & Internships
  • Financials and Annual Reports
  • Contact Us
  • Council for a Livable World
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

© 2023 Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Privacy Policy

Charity Navigator GuideStar Seal of Transparency