http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/04/04/wsub04.xml
West's submarine nuclear warheads flawed, say scientists
By Francis Harris in Washington
(Filed: 04/04/2005)
British and American nuclear warheads carried by submarines are so
poorly designed that they may fail to detonate if fired, scientists
have said.
The news emerged after interviews with a group of American scientists
with ties to the Los Alamos nuclear research facility, where the first
atomic weapon was manufactured.
HMS Vanguard carries Britain's nuclear deterrent, Trident
One of them, Richard Morse, of the University of Arizona and a former
Los Alamos weapons designer, said the casing of the W76 nuclear
warhead was so thin that it would probably fail if used. The British
Trident warhead, the country's sole nuclear weapon, is based on the
W76.
Mr Morse said: "What is out there on those boats is at best unreliable
and probably much worse."
The claims have been vigorously denied by US officials, who say that
the warhead "looks like a pretty good weapon". They say the warheads
have not been tested for 13 years because of the global moratorium on
the testing of nuclear weapons but were successfully detonated before
then.
Everet Beckner, the head of the nuclear arsenal at Los Alamos, said
there were no plans to redesign the W76 but admitted to the New York
Times that that could change.
The story emerged after what was described as "acrimonious" exchanges
between worried scientists and the leadership of America's nuclear
weapons programme.
That led four scientists, three of them former Los Alamos employees
and one still working there, to seek a secret meeting with weapons
officials to discuss their fears.
They met in March last year. Dr Morse said: "It was a verbal
mud-wrestling match. Officials from Los Alamos and the government
would not be candid with us. We told them things they did not know."
The issue is of central importance despite the end of the Cold War.
Countries such as North Korea and Iran are pursuing nuclear programmes
that Washington believes have a military goal. Both have active and
ambitious long-range missile programmes.
Britain's nuclear weaponry, thought to number about 190 warheads, is
carried exclusively aboard the four Trident submarines, Vanguard,
Vigilant, Vengeance and Victorious.
While America still has air-launched nuclear weaponry, it too has
become more dependent on its submarine missiles. Dr Morse said the
growing reliance on submarine weaponry had revived his long-standing
worries about the casings of the W76.
During the 1970s there was pressure to make warheads as light as
possible to allow more to be fitted on top of a relatively thin
missile. Although the radiation casing was made of uranium, which is
double the weight of lead, it was to be super-thin - in places only as
thick as a beer tin.
The casing is critical because it has to hold together for nanoseconds
as the nuclear chain reaction begins, releasing temperatures hotter
than the surface of the Sun. If the case fails, the bomb can fail too
or explode with less than its intended force.
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| User: "Woodswun" |
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| Title: Re: West's submarine nuclear warheads flawed, say scientists |
05 Apr 2005 04:29:59 PM |
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wrote:
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/04/04/wsub04.xml
West's submarine nuclear warheads flawed, say scientists
By Francis Harris in Washington
(Filed: 04/04/2005)
British and American nuclear warheads carried by submarines are so
poorly designed that they may fail to detonate if fired, scientists
have said.
Of course, the purpose of the weapons is not to fire them .... isn't it?
The news emerged after interviews with a group of American scientists
with ties to the Los Alamos nuclear research facility, where the first
atomic weapon was manufactured.
Seeing as how that's probably classified info, I'm kind of wondering
what kind of maroon would spill those beans when Los Alamos is already
reeling from the fallout (ha!) of huge security problems.
I'm thinking they're working at Los Alamos because NASA didn't give 'em
a job offer! :-D
Woods
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| User: "Michael Cornelissen" |
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| Title: Re: West's submarine nuclear warheads flawed, say scientists |
05 Apr 2005 04:45:20 PM |
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Nuclear warheads are not meant to be fired.
The possesion alone is it's strategic value.
/Michael Cornelissen
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