Forest Green
ACCESS: USAP
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Another amazing find from /r/nuclearweapons:
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/nuclearweapons/comments/1szrzjg/naval_ordnance_lab_1966_multipoint_initiated/
H-tree multipoint initiation tiles are widely believed to be the basis used for many modern nuclear weapon primaries (excluding certain niche special cases like the W88). There are a few other techniques that could possibly substitute for H-tree MPI tiles (air lenses are probably the one with the most support for spherical primaries), but evidence to support the use of alternative techniques is mixed, and it is widely believed that H-tree MPI tiles are likely one of the most commonly used techniques in most US nuclear weapons.
The W87 primary, most likely yes, albeit only if you first stripped off and discarded the radiation case, primary interstage/padding, detonator wiring, detonators, etc. Obviously this would only be the outermost visible layer. Below this would be a single monolithic layer of IHE (no need for bulky explosive lenses with MPI tiles!), then you'd have a beryllium pusher-tamper-reflector, a coating of vanadium (to provide the FRP properties), a thin coating of stainless steel, then finally the hollow plutonium pit.If we could see an unreacted photograph of the W87/88 primary I suppose it would look something like that?
I would expect something very sophisticated, not a 2-point squish. If only because the USN would utterly lose their minds over the one-point safety issues.The W88 primary, no. It is a spheroid primary, not a spherical primary. It is unclear what kind of initiation system is used. Some believe that it may use a two point initiation system. Others believe that it may use something a bit more complicated than that. Two point initiation is quite plausible but has traditionally been associated with serious one point safety issues, although in theory there are ways that could be worked around. Honestly we have nowhere near enough information to say with certainty what the exact design details inside look like. The most common guess is that it's a two point initiation system, and I weakly agree with this theory.
Area 51 is not the Nevada Test Site.Article explaining why these earthquakes were very, very unlikely to be underground nuclear tests.
https://www.popsci.com/science/area-51-earthquakes/
Area 51 is not the Nevada Test Site.
Two point allows a 'rugby ball' like shape which cuts diameter along one axis.
A slightly simpler option would be to develop an air-launched nuclear missile, a capability that Britain gave up in the 1990s.
They did design at least one during the 1980s (SRALSCM):The UK lost that ability when the RAF retired its' Blue Steel cruise-missile at the end of 1970.
I still believe that the Establishment Elements are greatly understating the costs of restoring independent national nuclear design and production capacity.What is also clear is Establishment Elements be driving a domestication agenda for quite rational reasons. Current events have collapsed a lot of ambiguous factions that have been too reliant on the current state of affairs.
No I think that's Ed Davies leader of the LibDems who thinks an additional 20 billion will do.I still believe that the Establishment Elements are greatly understating the costs of restoring independent national nuclear design and production capacity.
Report on the Cancelled WE-177 Replacement Programme, which sheds light on UK thinking about substrategic nukes
https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-co...aint.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Executive summaryDo you have a TLDR summary for that report, please?
As usual, the single greatest threat to HMArmed Forces is HMTreasury.I still think that cancelling the WE-177 replacement was incredibly shortsighted and wilfully naive, as for HM's treasury harping on about cancelling it well the more intransigent bean-counters should've been told to shut up or they'd be reassigned to newly established treasury branches in the Falklands, South Georgia or the British Antarctic Territory.
A degree of correlation with the conventional cruise missile options in the side view.They did design at least one during the 1980s (SRALSCM):
Rather alarmist.
So, the USN program quote ignores the fact that all intercontinental ballistic missiles are Hypersonic during reentry. Plus, there is currently only one maker of aeroshells in the US. We absolutely have to fix that, and get at least 3 different makers.The work funded in these two parallel programs seeks to overcome the technological barriers to future re-entry vehicle designs. The Navy program’s sub-project on future aeroshells notes the need to “withstand extreme temperatures and pressures encountered during hypersonic flight.” The equivalent Air Force justification document explains a recent bump in funding as “increased development and procurement of materials for multiple designs of the high lateral acceleration (high-g) and boost glide [government reference designs].”
Published May 18, 2026
VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. --
An operational test launch of an Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile is scheduled between 12:01 and 6:01 a.m. Pacific Time, May 20, from the northern portion of the installation.
This routine launch, designated GT 256, was scheduled years ago, and is not in response to world events.
The purpose of the ICBM test launch program is to validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy of the weapon system, according to AFGSC.
For questions regarding the launch window or Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) range operations, contact SLD 30 Public Affairs at 805-606-3595 or [email protected].
For queries regarding the ICBM test launch mission and missile, contact AFGSC Public Affairs at 318-456-1305 or [email protected].
-30-
You're telling me Ukraine can raise hell on Moscow with a few cheap drones but Britain would need nuclear weapons??It's actually quite a bit more than that. You'd need at least 200 RVs just to take out the ABM system. That doesn't count any of the RVs that'd be allocated to strike any of the actual targets within the Moscow area!
For example, if you're performing 2:1 strikes on 100 targets within the Moscow ABM system's umbrella, then you'd need 400 RVs to disable those 100 targets (200 to disable the ABM system, then 200 more to strike the 100 discrete targets once the ABM system has been taken out of service).
In 1968, there were thought to be approximately 130 warheads allocated to target the Soviet ABM systems, of which at least 70 were dedicated to the Moscow ABM system alone. This does not even include any of the warheads allocated towards targeting the various civilian and military sites within Moscow! That is just the warheads assigned to suppress the Soviet ABM systems to a sufficient degree to allow those other warheads to be able to hit their targets.
Of those 130 warheads, six targeted the Dog House radars, sixty-four targeted the eight ABM launch complexes, forty-eight targeted the six Tallinn system launch complexes, and twelve targeted the two Hen House early warning radars.
You can see a breakdown in https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2968/060002018 (see the table titled "Projected U.S. ABM suppression strike, 1968")
At another unknown point in the Cold War, 200 warheads had been allocated to target the Tallinn ABM system alone (which is 4x the number from the estimate for 1968). See the quote and image in this post: https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/spartan-sprint-abm-and-derivatives.8778/post-874925
During the cold war, there were 179 Designated Ground Zeros (DGZs) within Moscow. That means up to 179 sites within Moscow could be targeted during a nuclear exchange. Depending on the type of site, anywhere from 1–3 warheads might be targeted on it. Most important military targets will have a minimum of 2 warheads targeted on them. The most critical and/or heavily hardened sites will have 3+ warheads assigned to target them. Sites protected by ABM systems may also independently have additional warheads allocated to them in order to assist with breaking through ABM systems and protect against attrition by ABM interceptors.
Ref: https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb538-Cold-War-Nuclear-Target-List-Declassified-First-Ever/
So during a nuclear exchange between the US and the Soviet Union, Moscow could potentially quite easily have several hundred nuclear warheads targeting it and its ABM system.
The logical conclusion to be drawn from this is that the UK lacks the ability to credibly strike targets within Moscow with nuclear weapons.
However by simply bypassing Moscow entirely and exclusively targeting military/infrastructure/industrial/civilian targets that lie outside of the Moscow ABM umbrella, the UK nuclear deterrent is still more than adequate to instantly cripple Russia.
For a last resort absolute minimum viable retaliatory strike capability like the UK has, this is arguably an acceptable compromise.
The Moscow ABM system is interesting as it inherently skews warhead numbers in Russia's favor when it comes to arms control treaties (even more so than they are already skewed by factors like tactical weapons not being counted). It's kind of funny how the Russian response to the US GMD system has been total outrage, when they already possess a far more capable system protecting their capital city. Pretty hypocritical if you ask me. Sure, you can arguably just bypass Moscow entirely, but I somehow doubt that the US would ever accept that kind of limitation.
Does Britain have all those cheapass drones?You're telling me Ukraine can raise hell on Moscow with a few cheap drones but Britain would need nuclear weapons??
No, but I'm sure they could start making them.Does Britain have all those cheapass drones?
Until the UK has those drones in numbers, the only way for the UK to attack Moscow is Tridents.No, but I'm sure they could start making them.
Ukraine managed to do just that a few weeks ago. They forced the Kapotnya Oil Refinery to shut down.To be fair, I don’t think anyone is effectively attacking Moscow. There’s two dozen S300/400 batteries and two rings of ~100 Pantsir on rooftops and elevated flak towers. It’s pretty easily the most defended airspace on earth.