In 1963, Egypt threatened to place which material on a missile warhead aimed at Israel?

• A. Co-60
• B. Uranium-235
• C. Plutonium-239
• D. Radium-226

Answer: (A)

The concept here is radiological weapons: using a radioactive material to contaminate an area rather than creating a nuclear explosion. Cobalt-60 is a strong gamma emitter that can be dispersed and emit penetrating radiation, making external exposure a primary hazard after detonation. That makes it a classic candidate for a radiological dispersal device on a missile warhead, aiming to spread radiation over a wide area without a nuclear yield.

Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239 are fissile fuels used to trigger a nuclear chain reaction, producing a true nuclear explosion rather than just contamination; they’re associated with nuclear weapon design, not radiological dispersal. Radium-226 is an older alpha emitter with limited usefulness for wide-area external exposure and is not practical for modern radiological dissemination. So cobalt-60 best fits the described scenario of a weaponized radiological threat.