US To Build Nuclear Warhead Using New Design

Illustration only of the Reliable Replacement Warhead.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) March 02, 2007
The United States said Friday it had selected the design of next-generation nuclear warheads, a step toward the construction of new bombs for the sea-based nuclear arsenal to replace aging Cold War-era stock. The government chose a design by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California over a competing design by the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico for the project, the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said in a statement.

The program, named Reliable Replacement Warhead, now will enter a new development phase and be subjected to a cost estimation. After congressional approval, the new warheads were to be produced under the direction of the US Navy.

The design chosen has the advantage of being the most similar to those used in the most recent underground tests, which increases the likelihood it will not have to undergo new testing, NNSA said.

The NNSA insisted, however, that the new nuclear warheads would not increase the US Army stockpile, but only replace current warheads which on average are more than 20 years old and at risk of becoming dangerous.

Source: Agence France-Presse

Email This Article

NUKEWARS

US And North Korea Begin Thaw In Relations

Washington (AFP) Mar 05, 2007
Landmark US-North Korea talks on normalizing relations were to get underway Monday amid questions in Washington over whether US intelligence had exaggerated Pyongyang's nuclear threat. US officials were cautioning that the talks in New York are only a small first step towards establishing diplomatic ties and that North Korea needs to meet a series of denuclearization benchmarks in order to end a half century of enmity between the two states.

SUPERPOWERS Beijing Cashes In Prosperity In Massive Boost To Military Spending India Increases Defence Spending Eight Percent China Defends Military Following Cheney-Led Attacks The Russia That Can Say No	NUKEWARS US To Build Nuclear Warhead Using New Design US And North Korea Begin Thaw In Relations Pakistan Tests Nuclear-Capable Ballistic Missile Spy Agency Defends Intelligence On North Korea Nuclear Program
MISSILE NEWS Hunter-Viper Strike Team Completes Successful Missile Range Tests Raytheon Demonstrates Engine For Powered Joint Standoff Weapon Extended Range Raytheon HDAM Missile Successful In Test Flight Against Low-Power Radar Source Lockheed Martin And Kongsberg Defence And Aerospace To Jointly Market Joint Strike Missile	MISSILE DEFENSE US Missile Shield In Ukraine And Caucasus Could Spark Regional Crisis US Missile Shield Would Include Caucasus-Based Radar A New Missile Debate For Russia Lockheed Martin Awarded $979,175,217 Dollars To Build Better Signal Processor For Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense
AEROSPACE NASA Signs Defense Department Agreement Lockheed Martin And FAA Reach Significant Milestone In Transformation Of Flight Services Can UABC Take Russian Aircraft-Makers Out Of Spin Superjet To Be Tested For Strength	UAV NEWS New Technology Expands Air Force Combat Capability Phase 2 Testing Completed For Centralized Controller For Unmanned Air And Ground Systems Killerbee UAV Flies At Camp Pendleton UAV Tested For US Border Security
IRAQ WARS Baghdad Crackdown Making Slow Progress Building Security In Barwanah Who Lost Iraq A Last Chance For Iraq	MILTECH Russian Air Defense To Be Based On S-300 And S-400 Systems Humans Still A Factor In War Gates Calls On Congress To Fund IED Research Raytheon To Bid For Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement