U.S. to Upgrade Submarine Nuclear Warheads

More than 60 percent of W-76 nuclear warheads are expected to be upgraded for possible deployment on 14 U.S. Navy ballistic missile submarines, the Federation of American Scientists said last week (see GSN, June 2, 2006).

The Clinton administration called for improvements to 25 percent of the W-76 warheads, the most common warhead in the U.S. nuclear arsenal.  The Bush administration’s 2001 Nuclear Posture Review, however, recommended that more warheads undergo the upgrades.

A 2005 Defense Department plan slated 63 percent of W-76 warheads, or about 2,000 warheads, to be upgraded between 2007 and 2021.

The upgraded W-76 warhead is expected to have improved capabilities against hard targets, according to officials.

Approval to begin manufacturing the Reliable Replacement Warhead in 2014 could result in the next-generation warhead being deployed on submarines in place of the W-76 warheads during the second half of the upgrade project (Hans Kristensen, Federation of American Scientists, Aug. 30).

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