An observation on nuclear terror

[Werner]

We are all aware of the "incident" involving W-80 fusion warheads inadvertently transported on a B-52 earlier this month.

The US military has seen fit to remanufacture these warheads three times in 20 years, stating the need (among other things) to renew the neutron generators. It has also been said that the smaller the package, the shorter the shelf-life.

On this basis, I think it is safe to assume any stray weapons left over from the fall of the USSR are no longer useful nuclear devices, although they could be remanufactured or used as a "dirty bomb".

The US has also found that the constant bombardment by atomic by-products damages the non-nuclear parts of the package such as the precisely shaped plastique, or the detonation system. These unexpected side-effects also serve to reduce the likelihood that a rogue atom bomb will cause mass mayhem.

[HMAS]

These unexpected side-effects also serve to reduce the likelihood that a rogue atom bomb will cause mass mayhem.

well that screws up a "good" righteous indignation etc news story..
Wait on! Never let the facts get in the way of a story in the tabloids
Tony

[MichelB]

But, but... then what will our barbarian descendants use when they finally rise up against the alien overlords to re-establish the sovereignty of Mankind? Without a antique atom bomb they stand no chance! Darn, i always knew there was *something* wrong with Battlefield Earth.

[Werner]

Darn, i always knew there was *something* wrong with Battlefield Earth.

I think the South Park version was better!

[bengtsson]

Speaking of shelf life, how about all those nuclear warhead depth charges and torpedo warheads we used to carry around on our Subs and ASW ships? I was a Sonar Tech. so never got near these things, but often wondered how safe they were as regards radiation and degrading of the structures around the actual nuclear material.
In the hight of the cold war with nuclear missile subs of the Soviet Union at sea, given a war, we were not planning on playing games. i.e a good sonar contact where we thought a Soviet ballistic missile sub MIGHT be, would get a nuclear depth charge unloaded on it. The rule was if you don't get him on the first try, he could nuke all the eastern seaboard and half of the midwest.
Just wonder where all those old warheads went and if the USN still produces them in numbers and arms modern subs and surface ships with nukes anylonger??

Bob B.

[Werner]

The official position of the US Navy is that it neither confirms nor denies the presence of nuclear weapons on any warship, but the non-official line is that the USN does not deploy nuclear weapons aboard surface ships or non-strategic submarines, leaving open the possibility that the carriers may sometime operate with nukes.

As to the disposition of old warheads, they are disassembled and returned to the "National Nuclear Enduring Stockpile" under the supervision of Los Alamos National Labs. The specific location of the materials is undisclosed, but there are several likely places I can imagine.

Since the Navy currently possesses many more cruise missile launchers than cruise missiles (by perhaps an order of 2:1), it would be foolish to maintain any with nukes. The Navy's supply of TLAM-N were remanufactured into conventional cruise missiles during the Clinton Administration, when we actually "ran out" of Tomahawks for a short while.