Life span of U.S. nuclear weapons will increase under plan

Source: The Washington Post

A new, 10-year strategic plan for the U.S. nuclear weapons complex demonstrates that as the size of the arsenal shrinks because of a new arms control treaty with Russia, the effectiveness and life span of the United States’s weapons will increase.

Among the “select initiatives” listed by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in an update released Wednesday of its 2004 strategic plan are life-extension programs for two nuclear missile warheads and one type of bomb.

Life extension for the W-76, the most numerous nuclear warhead in the U.S. stockpile, was initially approved in 2000. At first only 800 were to be refurbished, but the Bush administration raised that number to 2,000; the number now being refurbished is classified. The program will not be completed until 2018, according to the plan.

An initiative listed for completion by 2017 is a study for extending the life by some 30 years of the B-61 nuclear bomb. Some current B-61 models are strategic and carried by B-52 and B-2 stealth bombers, and other versions are tactical, carried by U.S. and NATO fighter planes based in Eu6rope.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/life-span-of-us-nuclear-weapons-will-increase-under-plan/2011/05/18/AFY0en6G_story.html

and they'll last forever

It would suck if they started going off by themselves. :nuke:

There are so many safeties on US weapons, it's surprising they 'go off' at all.

In order for them to work as intended, a certain sequence of events must occur in the proper order and timing.

The fail-safes are more susceptible to age than the basic weapons mechanisms, refurbishing them is done to make sure the weapon can still work as designed.

An earlier problem (I think these might be retired now) was discovered where a safety wire had to be removed before the weapon could detonate. Turns out years of handling, corrosion, etc made the wires break off inside the weapon, rendering it an incredibly expensive paperweight until the weapon was re-assembled.

God damn it.

resetting the threshold for dangerous levels of radiation exposure, by simply issuing a new number out their asses; just so the nuke workers could continue to go into the power stations & try to defuse the situation. probably - though this is only my guess - to cover the power company from being liable for damages, due to illness or fatality, caused by exposures beyond the legitimate, scientifically-determined exposure levels.

Jesus. No wonder print is dying so fast. They can't even spell-check.