Scientists at U.S. Energy Department laboratories are expected to begin research next month on a “bunker-busting” nuclear weapon, USA Today reported yesterday (see related GSN story, today).

The new nuclear weapons development program will start small, said Everet Beckner, National Nuclear Security Administration deputy administrator for defense programs.  There will be about a dozen weapon designers each at the Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories.

The study on the new bunker-busting bomb will probably cost up to $50 million over two to three years, Beckner said.  Energy officials will obtain congressional approval before designing any new weapons, he said.

The Bush administration also plans to reduce the time needed to restart nuclear weapons testing down to months and increase spending on manufacturing sites for nuclear weapons, according to Energy documents.

“The need is clear for a revitalized nuclear weapons complex,” said the recently leaked Nuclear Posture Review (Jonathan Weisman, USA Today, March 18).

It is possible to build a bunker-busting nuclear weapon by modifying an existing bomb, rather than using a new design, said NNSA Administrator John Gordon before a Senate panel yesterday.

“There is no defined requirement for a new weapon at this time,” Gordon said.  “I don’t see anything happening in the immediate future.”

Gordon also told the Senate panel that the current U.S. nuclear arsenal works fine and there is no need to resume testing.

“No identified problems … suggest the need to return to nuclear testing any time soon,” he said.  “Our nation’s nuclear weapons remain safe, secure and reliable.  When we find aging problems, we know what to do about them.  We know how to fix them, and we go out and do that” (Carolyn Skorneck, Associated Press/Yahoo.com, March 18).

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