Current Nuclear Weapons Development

[NMaude]

Some of the old pits especially the ones several decades old should be remanufactured so that the accumulated Americium-241 (The decay product of Plutonium-241 which has a half-life of 13.2 years IIRC) can be removed from the Pu-Ga alloy.

 

[Forest Green]

US says secret nuclear strategy not a response to single country or threat

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A classified nuclear strategic plan approved by President Joe Biden this year is not a response to a single country or threat, the White House said on Tuesday, after the New York Times reported it reoriented the U.S. deterrence strategy to focus on China's expansion of its...

us.yahoo.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

US prepares for threat of joint Chinese, Russian and North Korean nuclear strike

Joe Biden secretly approved change to America’s nuclear defence plan in March, New York Times reports

www.telegraph.co.uk

Nuclear war is much closer than we dare imagine

The weapons technology of the West’s enemies is surging ahead. Rebuilding our deterrence is urgent

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Desertfox]

Do you understand what “basically” zero means?

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4510010-plutonium-pits-us-nuclear-ambitions-sentinel/amp/
Overseeing the production is the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which is pushing to get Los Alamos whirring to life this year to start making plutonium pits, with the hopes of eventually producing 30 per year at the site. The agency also plans to open a brand-new plutonium pit production plant in South Carolina, known as the Savannah River site, to meet an ultimate target goal of 80 pits a year.


But the NNSA hasn’t done large-scale pit production since the early 1990s, creating unease about restarting the process after decades of inactivity. And the agency is plagued by schedule delays, workforce challenges and budget concerns.
———————-

https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/plutonium-pit-production

, but for nearly three decades, the United States has not had the ability to produce them in the quantities required for the nuclear weapons stockpile.
—————————
Yes basically zero.

We don't need 3,000 a year, we need 80 a year and we already produce a significant portion of those. The process is set, all that is needed is time to finish up the expansion of the production lines to expand the throughput. We have a working production line, we just need more (which are under construction).

 

[bobbymike]

We don't need 3,000 a year, we need 80 a year and we already produce a significant portion of those. The process is set, all that is needed is time to finish up the expansion of the production lines to expand the throughput. We have a working production line, we just need more (which are under construction).

Nowhere did I say we need 3000/year my comment was simply to illustrate how far we’ve fallen. Also as the article I attached shows we are a decade away (if no delays) from getting to 30/year meanwhile latest estimates are China deployed warheads could go from 500-1500 in that same timeframe.

When you throw Russia into the mix our capacity to build new warheads is woefully inadequate.

 

[Desertfox]

We are a decade way from 80 a year, 30 a year will be far sooner. Note we already have ~1500 deployable warheads in storage (due to New START) and have plenty of pits we can and will recycle without needing new builds. We are just fine.

 

[bobbymike]

US says secret nuclear strategy not a response to single country or threat

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A classified nuclear strategic plan approved by President Joe Biden this year is not a response to a single country or threat, the White House said on Tuesday, after the New York Times reported it reoriented the U.S. deterrence strategy to focus on China's expansion of its...

www.yahoo.com

 

[Forest Green]

North Korea could create a 'nuclear domino' effect in Asia: Seoul

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 22, 2024 - Recognizing North Korea as a nuclear state threatens to create a domino effect that will cause an arms race around Northeast Asia, Seoul's top official on inter-Korean affairs warned Thursday, as he called on the United States to reaffirm support for...

www.spacewar.com

 

[NMaude]

From Defense Updates, it would appear that the US has new plans in regards to its' nuclear arsenal and the PRC, North Korea and Russia:

A significant development has taken place when it comes to U.S. nuclear stance.In March, President Biden approved a highly classified nuclear strategic plan for the United States. This was first reported by the New York Times.The White House did not publicly announce that Biden had approved the updated strategy, known as the "Nuclear Employment Guidance." This revised plan aims to prepare the United States for potential coordinated nuclear threats from 3 specific countries.

In this video, Defense Updates analyzes why the U.S.'s new nuclear strategic plan focuses on China, Russia, and North Korea ?

#defenseupdates #israelhamaswar #israeliranhttps://www.youtube.com/hashtag/israeliran

Chapters:
00:11 INTRODUCTION
01:35 CHANGES REQUIRED
03:02 RUSSIAN THREATS
04:36 STRENGTHEN OF NORTH KOREA’S NUCLEAR CAPABILITY
05:57 CHINA’s CAPACITY EXPANSION
07:44 ANALYSIS