Current Nuclear Weapons Development

NMaude said:
As far as I know, just make an email enquiry with the website and you should find out, if it's still available I strongly recommend buying a copy.
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I used to have his book. I know how good the stuff is. :)
 
sferrin said:
I used to have his book. I know how good the stuff is. :)
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The 1988 book is obsolete, in between its publication and the publication of the 2nd Ed. of his CD-ROM he'd discovered a LOT of new information, unfortunately we'll never have a 3rd, 4th or 5th edition because he died from a brain tumour in March 2003 (It's been 20 years since Chuck Hansen has died:().
 
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NMaude said:
Well if he does so I won't be surprised if president Biden then orders the DoE to carry a series of LONG overdue nuclear-tests at the NPG (But only after the Russians have detonated a test-device).
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I would. Nothing would anger his base more than a nuclear detonation. It would also make it look like he's losing 'control'.

My suspicion is that putin tries to use a test to forestall the next increment of aid to ukraine from the USA, as that actually helps his strategic objective.
 
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NMaude said:
I know, this makes Putin's move a symbolic gesture, now the question is will Putin be bold and reckless enough to ignore international opinion and order a new underground nuclear test series?
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I believe the Russian FM already has stated that the Russians won’t be first to test again. I think it unlikely they test, for the moment. It doesn’t buy them anything.
 
NMaude said:
Well if he does so I won't be surprised if president Biden then orders the DoE to carry a series of LONG overdue nuclear-tests at the NPG (But only after the Russians have detonated a test-device).
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Not sure the Administration does that. It doesn’t really buy the US anything. Perhaps when there is a newish design to test for the new strategic systems (w80 mod 4, W87 mod whatever), but detonating a warhead just to blow something up probably doesn’t play well domestically or internationally.
 
Josh_TN said:
I believe the Russian FM already has stated that the Russians won’t be first to test again.
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I wouldn't put much stock in what the Russian FM says, Putin and company have proved they'll lie when it suits themselves.
 
NMaude said:
I know, this makes Putin's move a symbolic gesture, now the question is will Putin be bold and reckless enough to ignore international opinion and order a new underground nuclear test series?
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Considering what has happened with conventional systems from even the active and ready to use inventory, the Russian military itself must be asking for tests.
Short version, they have become aware that they don't know if the nukes are actually in operable condition.
The official records likely show everything is within normal parameters. But those records showed conventional systems were so at the start and many proved to not be in reality.
 
zen said:
Short version, they have become aware that they don't know if the nukes are actually in operable condition.
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Basically how many of their tactical nuclear warheads might prove to be duds because they haven't been properly stored and serviced since the fall of the Soviet Union. I can see Putin ordering underground tests of them to see that they won't fizzle.
 
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zen said:
Considering what has happened with conventional systems from even the active and ready to use inventory, the Russian military itself must be asking for tests.
Short version, they have become aware that they don't know if the nukes are actually in operable condition.
The official records likely show everything is within normal parameters. But those records showed conventional systems were so at the start and many proved to not be in reality.
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Well, let's be honest for a moment here. Nobody wants nukes to detonate unless the Powers That Be have declared that it is time. This means fuses designed to only go bang when positively commanded to do so. This also means a relatively high dud rate, for all those times that the complicated fuses didn't have all parts get the memo that this detonation was positively commanded. And that's even when everything is working correctly!
 
NMaude said:
Basically how many of their tactical nuclear warheads might prove to be duds because they haven't been properly stored and serviced since the fall of the Soviet Union. I can Putin ordering underground tests of them to see that they won't fizzle.
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I suspect special weapons are held to a higher standard than conventional weapons. Also there likely is a lot less opportunity for corruption with nuclear weapons. It's not like you can sell a spare rocket motor or gyroscope as easy as ammunition, fuel, and tires.
 
Josh_TN said:
I suspect special weapons are held to a higher standard than conventional weapons. Also there likely is a lot less opportunity for corruption with nuclear weapons. It's not like you can sell a spare rocket motor or gyroscope as easy as ammunition, fuel, and tires.
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Barring the suitcase nukes being easy to sell off as an entire package...

But again, due to the very nature of the fuses and detonators, unless you are prepared for unintended detonations you end up designing fuses with a high dud rate.

As the detonics engineers say: "If the ordnance must absolutely, positively detonate when commanded, I can do that. If the ordnance must NOT EVER detonate when not commanded, I can do that. If you want both, we need to talk."
 
www.atlanticcouncil.org

Deterrence is crumbling in Korea: How we can fix it

Conventional wisdom in the United States holds that deterrence in Korea is strong, but this widespread confidence is based on a backward look at long-standing assumptions that are no longer tenable, along with rapidly shifting politico-military conditions. This report explains the urgent actions...
www.atlanticcouncil.org www.atlanticcouncil.org
 
Josh_TN said:
I can't imagine SSBNs were out there popping wheelies even when they were young. :)
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Happens a few times. Kentucky ended up spending 3 weeks at Flank to get one dude close enough to the coast for him to be medevaced, 1 week there and 2 weeks back to where we were supposed to be in the middle of the pacific.

Georgia was at the point where the CO was under orders to not burn too many neutrons. Could still pop the occasional wheelie, but no long sprints.
 
"VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. --
Space Launch Delta 30 safely terminated an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean at 12:06 a.m. Pacific Time Nov. 1, due to an anomaly during a test launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California."
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Minuteman III test provides vital data before termination

Space Launch Delta 30 safely terminated an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean at 12:06 a.m. Pacific Time Nov. 1, due to an anomaly during a test launch
www.afgsc.af.mil

This would be the third Minuteman 3 failure since 2010 in 43 launches, and the second during the past six years over 20 flights, much worse than the traditional failure rate for these missile tests. In addition, a single Minotaur 2+ attempt failed and four orbital Minotaur 1 launches succeeded during the 2010-2023 period. One of the triad legs looks wobbly.

- Ed Kyle
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Flyaway said:
"VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. --
Space Launch Delta 30 safely terminated an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean at 12:06 a.m. Pacific Time Nov. 1, due to an anomaly during a test launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California."

Minuteman III test provides vital data before termination

Space Launch Delta 30 safely terminated an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean at 12:06 a.m. Pacific Time Nov. 1, due to an anomaly during a test launch
www.afgsc.af.mil

This would be the third Minuteman 3 failure since 2010 in 43 launches, and the second during the past six years over 20 flights, much worse than the traditional failure rate for these missile tests. In addition, a single Minotaur 2+ attempt failed and four orbital Minotaur 1 launches succeeded during the 2010-2023 period. One of the triad legs looks wobbly.

- Ed Kyle
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How long has it been since the rocket motors were made? Even living in a silo, they're life limited.

Cracked solid rocket motors have a rather exciting and impressive failure mode.
 
Scott Kenny said:
How long has it been since the rocket motors were made? Even living in a silo, they're life limited.

Cracked solid rocket motors have a rather exciting and impressive failure mode.
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All of the deployed MMIII SRMs were refreshed during the Propulsion Replacement Program (2001 - 2009). Keep in mind that tests of assets that have been removed from service have shown performance within family past 30 years. I think individual motors have been tested past 50 years.
 
Sandboxx has just put out a new YT video about the three new US nuclear weapons in development:


For the first time in decades, the United States now has at least three new nuclear weapons making their way toward service, including a new long-range air-launched nuclear cruise missile, a powerful new nuclear bomb, and the nation's first new ICBM — or intercontinental ballistic missile — since the 1970s.
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But these aren't the only new nuclear weapons to emerge in recent years... And the truth is, America's global adversaries have a number of new weapons of their own.
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It also talks a bit about the Russian and PRC nuclear arsenals too. Actual US weapon discussions begin at 13:11 into the video.
 

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