Nuclear AIM-54

[Sheffie]

ive made a typo which sucks
this sentence "the armament section (warhead and fusing) of the Phoenix is weighs about 20lbs greater than the W54 alone." is supposed to be W45.

W45 weighs about 150lbs which is greater than the 133 lb warhead and very close to the 180lb overall weight listed for the "armament section" of the AIM54

 

[Download]

I'm doubtful that the W54 would have been selected for the missile. The W54 was once of the first ~10" diameter warheads and dates from the early 1960s. By the 1970s they had much more modern devices in that size class.

But even then, the AIM-54 was a 15" diameter missile and the conventional warhead was ~130 lb. Tiny little 10" devices use a lot of fissile material relative to their yield. Even modest increases in diameter (say 12" class) will reduce fissile material requirements significantly.

 

[NMaude]

The W54 was once of the first ~10" diameter warheads and dates from the early 1960s. By the 1970s they had much more modern devices in that size class.

The W72 (Retired in 1979) used the pits from retired and dismantled W54 warheads so the pits from W54s could be used in a new warhead with a new HE-implosion system designed to fit inside a 15" diameter airframe. Also that warhead design's efficiency (And hence explosive yield) could be improved with hollow-boosting.​

 

[Download]

The W72 (Retired in 1979) used the pits from retired and dismantled W54 warheads so the pits from W54s could be used in a new warhead with a new HE-implosion system designed to fit inside a 15" diameter airframe. Also that warhead design's efficiency (And hence explosive yield) could be improved with hollow-boosting.​

I've not seen any evidence as to how much of a rebuild the W72 was. It may have just reused pits, or it may have reused the whole implosion system (both with modifications for boosting). My general impression is that the W72 was more of a stop gap weapon as well, rather than something intended to remain in service for many years.

 

[NMaude]

It may have just reused pits,

It just reused the W54 pits and it had a new HE-implosion system (And casing).

both with modifications for boosting

The W54 was designed with and did use hollow-boosting right from the beginning.