Current Nuclear Weapons Development

Russia Said to Deploy Updated Ballistic Missile on Submarines
April 2, 2014

Russia has reportedly begun fielding an updated ballistic missile on some of its submarines that is thought capable of carrying up to 10 warheads. An unidentified Russian defense industry source told Voice of Russia that the submarine-launched ballistic missile Liner "was put into service in the beginning of this year." The Liner SLBM is being deployed on Delfin strategic submarines, according to the source. The Liner missile is a modernized version of the Sineva ballistic missile. The weapon's deployment on the Delfin submarine should enable the vessel to remain operational for another approximately 15 years. The updated missile is understood to be capable of carrying between four and 10 nuclear warheads. If fewer warheads are mounted on the missile, they can be equipped with more countermeasures for defeating missile defenses, according to Voice of Russia.
 
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/admiral-warns-that-risk-of-nuclear-conflict-is-growing/

..........."Rep. Doug Lamborn (R., Colo.) said that under the 2010 New START arms treaty with Russia, the United States cut its warhead arsenal by 103 while Russia increased its warheads. “To me, it is a remarkable situation that we’re decreasing and they are increasing,” Lamborn said. Haney responded by stating that Russia has a large tactical nuclear arsenal and that arms agreements so far were limited to strategic arms that have “come down appropriately” and allowed for information exchanges and other details of the strategic forces. “But is the imbalance roughly 10-to-1 when it comes to tactical warhead and weapons?” Lamborn asked. “I would rather not put a number to it in this open forum, sir,” Haney said................."
 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/10746240/North-Korea-tells-the-world-wait-and-see-over-new-nuclear-tests.html


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10746286/Chinese-man-arrested-at-Heathrow-over-breach-of-Iran-sanctions.html
 
http://breakingdefense.com/2014/04/navy-seeks-sub-replacement-savings-from-nasa-rocket-boosters-to-reused-access-doors/
 
Shifting Towards Equilibrium

The number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads and launchers in the US inventory sank in the most recent six-month reporting period, according to the newest US-Russian data exchange required by the New START agreement. Meanwhile, Russia's inventory grew. :eek:

As of March 1, the United States had 1,585 deployed nuclear warheads and 778 deployed launchers (i.e. heavy bombers, ICBMs, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles), along with 952 total deployed/non-deployed launchers, according to the State Department's April 1 fact sheet with these data. These lower totals compare to the 1,688 deployed warheads, 809 deployed launchers, and 1,015 deployed/non-deployed launchers that the United States declared on Sept. 1 in the previous data exchange. As of March 1, Russia had 1,512 deployed warheads (up 112 compared to September), 498 deployed launchers (plus 25), and 906 deployed/non-deployed launchers (12 more), states the fact sheet. The United States and Russia swap this information biannually under New START. The treaty requires each nation to possess no more than 1,550 deployed warheads, 700 deployed launchers, and 800 deployed/non-deployed launchers by February 2018. (See also Good Allies Share Bad News, Too.)
 
From Defense News;

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140408/DEFREG02/304080023/DoD-Shrink-Nuclear-Capable-Bombers-Modify-Subs-meet-New-START-Obligations


:mad: :'(
 
http://news.usni.org/2014/04/09/document-ohio-class-replacement-2014-briefing-slides
 
Warm Silos, Cold Treaty Relations

The Obama Administration is committed to the New START nuclear arms reduction agreement with Russia despite tensions heightened by Russian military activity in Ukraine. "We will continue to implement the New START treaty ... because it’s in our national interest," :eek: Elaine Bunn, deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and missile defense policy, told lawmakers. "This Administration, like its predecessors, has sought a stable, strategic nuclear relationship with Russia—especially during times of turbulence elsewhere in the relationship," she said during a House Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces panel on April 8. The Defense Department announced the planned force structure breakdown of the 700 deployed bombers, ICBMs, and SLBMs allowed under the treaty earlier this week. In addition, Bunn detailed DOD's plan for the 100 non-deployed launch platforms. These will include retaining the 50 Minuteman III silos emptied under the plan in "warm" status, as well as retaining six non-deployed B-52Hs in reserve, and 40 empty submarine launch tubes, states an April 9 release
 
http://defensetech.org/2014/04/11/navy-extends-trident-ii-d5-nuclear-missile-service-life/#idc-container
 
Air Force, NASA orders declining

Navy Admiral Sounds Alarm On Nuclear Rocket Motor Industrial Base :'(

Posted: Apr. 10, 2014

Senior nuclear policy officials from the Navy and Air Force this week told Congress they have a cooperative program in place to ensure the industrial base for nuclear missile motors remains healthy, but the Navy in particular is concerned about its viability and cost.

Testifying before the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee on April 8, Navy Strategic Systems Programs Director Vice Adm. Terry Benedict said his service is in an unenviable position regarding solid-rocket motors. The Navy's Trident D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile and the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile operated by the Air Force utilize similar motors, but the industrial base is being sustained today almost entirely by the maritime service. ATK is the leading provider of solid-rocket motors capable of boosting nuclear weapons.

"While the Navy is maintaining a continuous production capability at a minimum sustaining rate of 12 rocket motor sets per year, the demand from both NASA and Air Force has declined," Benedict wrote in his prepared statement. "Not only did this decline result in higher costs for the Navy, as practically a sole customer, but it also put an entire specialized industry at risk for extinction -- or at least putting it on the 'endangered species list.' That is not something we should risk. The Navy cannot afford to solely carry this cost, nor can this nation afford to lose this capability over the long term."

The Air Force is not ready to commit to a similar low-rate production program, Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak told the committee. Harencak, the Air Force's assistant chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration, said the service is waiting for the results of an analysis of alternatives about a follow-on ICBM, called the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, to inform its propulsion upgrade strategy for the next two decades. The Minuteman III is due to stay in service until 2030, with some improvements to the system planned between now and then.

Harencak was asked about the Air Force's rocket motor plans by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), whose home state is a major base of operations for ATK.

"We're looking at how we're going to sustain this [rocket motor inventory and industrial base]," Harencak said. "We're also looking at the analysis of alternatives, which has not come back yet. It will come this summer. We'll certainly be investigating [whether we should] begin a formal program for that, but we have not yet."

Harencak and Benedict said the two services do have a collaborative information-sharing process covering nuclear weapon components because both are likely to need comparable items to sustain existing systems and to modernize or replace aging equipment. That collaboration covers eight technology areas, one of which includes rocket motors. And while the two services have slightly different regulations for the ingredients that go into their missile propellants, the general said the Air Force could look to at least use similar chemicals as the Navy -- perhaps in different proportions or mixtures -- to generate some economies of scale.

The two services are "embarked on a deep set of cooperation initiatives where we're going to be able to leverage both of our buys, if you will, whether they be in raw materials or completed components, that I think will certainly provide some efficiencies but also help our industrial base," Benedict said.

The Air Force does appear likely to contribute to that industrial base in the next 18 months, albeit later than planned and perhaps in a competitive way. The service's Future ICBM Sustainment and Acquisition Construct consists of a number of ballistic missile subsystem contracts, through which the Air Force will acquire sustainment and minor upgrade services for the Minuteman III. One of those subsystems is propulsion, and the service intends to choose a propulsion contractor in November 2015.

ATK had initially been tapped to win that contract on a sole-source basis this year, but because of potential interest from Northrop Grumman, the Air Force is reconsidering its acquisition strategy and has pushed back its planned award date. -- Gabe Starosta
 
http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/2014/04/09/new-starts-extraordinary-events/
 
http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=1471

I want the model pictured in the article :D
 
Sandia National Laboratories has finished eight days of testing a full-scale mock unit representing the aerodynamic characteristics of the B61-12 gravity bomb in a wind tunnel. [...]
The B61 must spin during flight — spin that is controlled by a combination of rocket motors and canted fins on the tail. Engineers determined from flight tests in the 1990s that plumes from the rocket motors worked against the fin performance, counteracting the torque from the motors and reducing the vehicle spin rate. Sandia engineers termed that phenomenon “counter torque.” But data from a 2002 wind tunnel test to characterize counter torque were not fully applicable since the B61-12 uses a significantly different tail design than earlier versions. Engineers needed another series of wind tunnel tests to characterize counter torque on the new configuration to give them confidence the new system will meet the required spin environment in flight, said Vicki Ragsdale, a B61-12 technical basis test engineer at Sandia.[...]
Click to expand...
Source:
Sandia Labs News Releases - Wind tunnel tests support improved aerodynamic design of B61-12 bomb - April 14, 2014


Introduction is planned for 2020.
 

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http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140416/DEFREG03/304160021
 
Very interesting history of the B61 Nuclear Bomb. :)
The B61 Family of Nuclear Bombs
By Hans M. Kristensen
Robert Norris and I have made an update to our Nuclear Notebook on the B61 nuclear bomb family. Kind of an arcane title but that cozy-feeling title is what the nuclear weapon designers call that half a dozen different types of B61 nuclear weapons that were derived from the original design.
And it’s kind of timely, because the Obama administration is about to give birth to the newest member of the B61 family: the B61-12. And this is a real golden baby estimated at about $10 billion. [...]
Click to expand...

Link: FAS Strategic Security Blog - The B61 Family of Nuclear Bombs
PDF: Nuclear Notebook - The B61 family of nuclear bombs by Hans M. Kristensen and Robert S. Norris
 

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http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/pentagon-eyes-developing-longer-range-cruise-missile/
 
http://gizmodo.com/inside-the-us-nuclear-silos-where-floppy-disk-are-still-1568609439/all
 
http://breakingdefense.com/2014/04/how-to-fix-our-broken-nuclear-weapons-enterprise-dod-must-take-over/?utm_source=Breaking+Defense&utm_campaign=8eceeb4493-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4368933672-8eceeb4493-407814345
 
F.E. Warren Tests Minuteman Reliability

Airmen from the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., conducted a Simulated Electronic Launch-Minuteman test to assess the reliability of the Minuteman III ICBM, according to a base release. "We evaluated six launch facilities from their day-to-day operational state through issuance of the first-stage ignition signal. All six performed exactly as expected," said Capt. Joseph Liles, test manager for the 576th Flight Training Squadron from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., in the April 24 release. The test "represents the most complete test of our ICBM weapon system," he said. The SELM ran April 11-17. Air Force officials this year incorporated "some exciting new concepts" and "were able to validate the system's flawless performance when exposed to certain modern threats," said Liles. The Air Force conducts a SELM about every half year. The 91st MW at Minot AFB, N.D., underwent the testing last September. The 90th MW's next SELM is set for the fall of 2015, states the release. (F.E. Warren report by A1C Brandon Valle)
 
House Armed Services Committee Republicans are pushing back against the Obama administration's plans to delay selected efforts to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal. In their version of annual defense-authorization legislation, which the panel released Tuesday, committee Republicans also continued their so-far unsuccessful efforts to limit the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board's influence on the U.S. weapons complex. The Obama administration's fiscal 2015 defense budget looks to delay the controversial development of an interoperable warhead that could be used to replace two separate warheads fielded today by the Navy and Air Force. Committee Republicans have concerns with this postponement -- as well as other delays to modernization efforts -- according to the panel's legislation. "With the proposed deferral of the first interoperable warhead, the Department has concurrently proposed to defer plans … for a plutonium pit production capacity of 50 to 80 pits per year," the bill says. "The committee believes that waiting over 15 years to achieve a responsive nuclear infrastructure is too great a risk to national security."

The bill, which is up for a vote in the House panel's Strategic Forces Subcommittee on Wednesday, would require the Energy secretary "to ensure that the nuclear security enterprise produces at least 30 war reserve pits during 2023, at least 50 war reserve pits during 2026 and, during a pilot period of at least 90 days during 2027, demonstrate the capability to produce war reserve pits at a rate sufficient to produce 80 pits per year." Pits are the core of an atomic weapon. The bill also pushes back against the Obama administration's proposed delay to a planned cruise-missile warhead modernization. The legislation would require the Energy Secretary "to deliver a first production unit for a nuclear warhead for the long-range standoff weapon not later than" 2025. "The committee believes the proposed 3-year deferral of this cruise missile is contrary to the interests of national security," the bill says. "Therefore, the committee recommends this provision to ensure warhead production for this cruise missile is deferred only one year." Committee Republicans are also continuing their legislative efforts to limit the influence of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The bill would mandate that the inspector general of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission also serve as inspector general of the safety board. It would additionally limit the number of board employees to 120. Last year, the committee's version of the bill included a provision that would have enabled the Energy secretary to request cost-benefit analyses of any recommendations the independent safety board made. The language, along with a similar provision in the prior year's bill, was eventually dropped in conference negotiations with the Senate. Democrats feared last year's provision would have drained the safety board's resources and inhibited its ability to conduct important reviews. Committee Republicans, have argued the safety board reviews significantly increase the cost of work across the nuclear-weapons complex.
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Good thing this isn't 1943. General Leslie Groves to Roosevelt - 'Well Mr. President the first A bomb should be ready by 1964" :eek:
 
http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/key-us-lawmaker-special-funding-nuclear-vessel-wont-happen-year/
 
http://nationalinterest.org/article/china-goes-ballistic-10309
 
Full strategic forces budget markup FY2015

http://docs.house.gov/meetings/AS/AS29/20140430/102126/BILLS-113HR4435ih.pdf
 
Lawmakers Seek To Limit Long-Range Strike Weapon Program Delay

House lawmakers want to partially roll back a proposal to delay the Long-Range Strike Weapon by as many as three years, urging the Energy Department to have a production-ready warhead for the new nuclear-armed, bomber-launched cruise missile available by 2025 -- which would amount to only a one-year delay compared to earlier plans.
____________________________________________________________________________________

Congress Questions Air Force On Minuteman III Sustainment Plans

Members of Congress this week expressed their concern with the lack of direction among the Air Force's plans for long-term sustainment of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, with a House Armed Services subcommittee's fiscal year 2015 authorization legislation highlighting a growing problem with missile motors.
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What problem with missile motors? :eek:
 
http://aviationweek.com/blog/orbital-eying-atk-solid-propulsion-system-antares-first-stage-1

ATK's possible Antares solid first stage would be a good start to both a PGS missile and MMIII replacement. Or make a weaponized Antares 6000kg to low earth orbit would be a good sized payload for a Mt sized warhead on an AMaRV (or to be uploaded to 10+ warheads if the 'strategic' future reality changes) or multiple HTV-2's for conventional strike. ;D
 
Dr. Mark Schneider talks arms control, possible Russian treaty violations and US disarmament

http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/2014/04/29/dr-mark-schneider-the-inf-treaty-and-new-start-russian-nuclear-cheating-vs-american-nuclear-dismantling/
 
I know, it's hard, it's itching to post an opinion, a comment or something like that,
but experience shows, there's no other way to keep this thread open:

NEWS, only NEWS and nothing but NEWS ! :mad:
 
Two Stories from the Air Force Association;

The Fruit of INF Violations, Ready for Picking

​Russia’s alleged violations of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) are a “serious matter” and the US will continue to press the issue with Moscow, said the State Department’s top nuclear nonproliferation official. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller told reporters in Washington D.C., on Friday that the State Department has “serious compliance concerns” with the Russians over its obligations to the INF, which reportedly stem from Russia’s testing of a variant of a ground-launched cruise missile. Several reports indicate that in addition to the unnamed land-based cruise missile, Russian tests of the RS-26 Rubezeh ballistic missile also violated the INF. “I can say, we continue to raise it at a high level and we will continue to do so until our concerns are satisfied,” Gottemoeller said. The 1987 treaty bans the US and Russia from testing or deploying missiles with ranges between 500 kilometers and 5,000 kilometers. Gottemoeller said her office has been dealing with the matter “for a while,” but sought to downplay the notion that the crisis in Ukraine has exacerbated the matter.

—Marc V. Schanz
==========================================================
Changes Take Root in Missile Community

Maj. Gen. Jack Weinstein, commander of 20th Air Force, recently visited the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., to discuss upcoming training and quality of life changes intended to reinvigorate the ICBM mission. The grass roots Force Improvement Program, launched after widespread cheating was discovered at Malmstrom, made more than 350 recommendations to senior Air Force leaders, including formal training responsibilities for deputy missile combat crew commanders; the creation of a standardized question bank known as the Master Question File, which represents up to 500 things crewmembers must know; the implementation of a pass/fail system on monthly proficiency exams; and mimicking aircrew evaluation cycles. In addition, officials plan to unveil an advanced ICBM course that was developed at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., in June. Officials at Malmstrom also are developing an in-residence flight commander course and an MCC course “may soon follow,” states the May 7 release. The goal is to eventually teach the same courses throughout 20th Air Force. “I wanted to sit down with airmen in all disciplines to talk with them about what they thought about how we’re taking their inputs from the FIP and how we’re going to be implementing them pretty rapidly,” said Weinstein. “I’ve gotten really good feedback from it.”
 
http://www.defenseone.com/threats/2014/05/us-conducts-nuclear-response-exercises/84256/?oref=d-river
 
Sandia Laboratories renovates nuclear weapons test facility
See the tests designed to protect the U.S. nuclear arsenal
Published 4:44 PM MDT May 12, 2014

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —Albuquerque residents may be hearing more big booms and seeing more bright flashes soon as part of Sandia National Laboratories ongoing effort to keep the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile in tip-top shape.

KOAT Action 7 News got an exclusive tour of the newly renovated nuclear weapons test facilities at Sandia. After almost 10 years and $100 million, the facelift was done.

CLICK HERE to see video of our tour

"If we're going to maintain these as viable test capabilities, we just had to put money back into them to get them back where they are fully operational," said Dennis Miller, with Sandia Labs.

At one part of the facility, bombs race at jet-plane speeds on a nearly two-mile-long track.

In the cook house, or radiant heat facility, scientists test nuclear weapons at temperatures that can reach 2,000 degrees to make sure they're fit for almost anything.

"(We prepare for) fire accidents that our nuclear weapons may be involved in," Miller said.

The final stop on tour was the centrifuge, which simulates the G-levels on warheads when they're reentering the atmosphere.

"The environmental testing that is done here is critical to ensuring that our nation's nuclear arsenal remains safe, secure and effective," Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz said.

The tests are all done without actual nuclear components, and no radioactive material is used.

http://www.koat.com/news/sandia-laboratories-renovates-nuclear-weapons-test-facility/25942484
 

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