Purified hydrogen bomb

The Purified Hydrogen Bomb was a revolutionary weapons system that was under development prior to the Manhattan Incident. Its development was initiated by President of the United States James Johnson, and was top secret.

Unlike most Nuclear Weapons, the Purified Hydrogen Bomb utilized heavy hydrogen and nuclear fusion via lasers and magnetics, and used these to generate heat-insulated compression. It could also be used to envelop its target in an EMP wave, with the intention of causing massive blackouts.

Solidus Snake, the leader of the Sons of Liberty terrorist faction, did not initially know about the Purified Hydrogen Bomb project, namely because it was top secret. As the device was still in an experimental stage, the Purified Hydrogen Bomb launch protocols could only be activated when the Arsenal Gear was activated.

Behind the Scenes
In the Meal Gear Solid 2 Grand Game Plan, it mentioned that the concept of the Purified Hydrogen Bomb was first realized in Starfish Prime, and that Solidus' plans of using the Purified Hydrogen Bomb also involved shutting down nanomachines inside of people, putting tens of thousands of lives at risk.