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W85 (nuclear Warhead)
The W85 was a thermonuclear warhead developed by the United States to arm the Pershing II missile. It was a variable yield device with a selectable yield of . Overview The Pershing Ia missile was armed with a W50 warhead. By the early 1970s, it was clear that this was far too large to allow the missile to be used as a tactical nuclear weapon—at the time, 400 kilotons was larger than many strategic warheads. The Pershing II had a high-accuracy maneuverable reentry vehicle (MARV) equipped with a radar terminal guidance system, which allowed it to use the lower-yield W85 warhead. This warhead was derived from the B61 Mod 3 and utilized the same pit in the primary stage of the warhead, but it has also been described as having a nuclear design similar to that of the B61-4. The total weight of the Pershing II warhead section was , which included the reentry vehicle. In 1987 a joint Army/Department of Energy study concluded that it was technically and financially feasible to r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. Nuclear bombs have had yields between 10 tons (the W54) and 50 megatons for the Tsar Bomba (see TNT equivalent). Yields in the low kilotons can devastate cities. A thermonuclear weapon weighing as little as can release energy equal to more than 1.2 megatons of TNT (5.0 PJ). Apart from the blast, effects of nuclear weapons include firestorms, extreme heat and ionizing radiation, radioactive nuclear fallout, an electromagnetic pulse, and a radar blackout. The first nuclear weapons were developed by the Allied Manhattan Project during World War II. Their production continues to require a large scientific and industrial complex, pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States, American southwest. Best known for its central role in helping develop the First Atomic bomb, first atomic bomb, LANL is one of the world's largest and most advanced scientific institutions. Los Alamos was established in 1943 as Project Y, a top-secret site for designing nuclear weapons under the Manhattan Project during World War II.The site was variously called Los Alamos Laboratory and Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. Chosen for its remote yet relatively accessible location, it served as the main hub for conducting and coordinating nuclear research, bringing together some of the world's most famous scientists, among them numerous Nobel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
W85 Warhead
{{Disambiguation ...
W85 may refer to: * W85 (nuclear warhead) * Nonconvex great rhombicuboctahedron * W85 heavy machine gun * W85, a classification in masters athletics Masters Athletics managed by World Masters Athletics is a class of the sport of athletics (sport), athletics for athletes of 35 years of age and over organized by World Masters Athletics. The events include track and field, road running and cross ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pershing II
The Pershing II Weapon System was a solid-fueled two-stage medium-range ballistic missile designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the Pershing 1a Field Artillery Missile System as the United States Army's primary nuclear-capable theater-level weapon. The U.S. Army replaced the Pershing 1a with the Pershing II Weapon System in 1983, while the German Air Force retained Pershing 1a until all Pershings were eliminated in 1991. The U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM) managed the development and improvements, while the Field Artillery Branch deployed the systems and developed tactical doctrine. Development Development began in 1973 for an updated Pershing. The Pershing 1a had a 400 kt warhead, which was greatly over-powered for the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) tactical role the weapon system filled. Reducing warhead yield, however, required a significant increase in accuracy to match Pershing 1a's ability to kill hard targets like command bunkers. The contract went to Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variable Yield
Variable yield, or dial-a-yield, is an option available on most modern nuclear weapons. It allows the operator to specify a weapon's yield, or explosive power, allowing a single design to be used in different situations. For example, the Mod-10 B61 bomb had selectable explosive yields of 0.3, 5, 10 or 80 kilotons, depending on how the ground crew set a dial inside the casing when it was loaded onto an aircraft. Technology Variable yield technology has existed since at least the late 1950s. Examples of variable yield weapons include the B61 nuclear bomb family, B83, B43, W80, W85, and WE177A warheads. Most modern nuclear weapons are Teller–Ulam design type thermonuclear weapons, with a fission ''primary'' stage and a fusion ''secondary stage'' that is collapsed by the energy from the primary. These offer at least three methods to vary yield: * Varying primary yield by boosting with fusion, using small amounts of deuterium / tritium (DT) gas inside the primary fissi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
W50 (atomic Weapon)
The W50 (also known as the Mark 50) was an American thermonuclear warhead deployed on the MGM-31 Pershing theater ballistic missile. Initially developed for the LIM-49 Nike Zeus anti-ballistic missile, this application was cancelled before deployment. The W50 was developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory. The W50 was manufactured from 1963 through 1965, with a total of 280 being produced. They were retired from service starting in 1973 with the last units retired in 1991. There were two major variants produced: the Mod 0 for Nike Zeus and the Mod 1 for Pershing. Three yield options were available: the Y1 with , Y2 with , and Y3 with . All variants were in diameter at the attachment flange and long, weighing . History The W50 warhead traces its origins to a 1955 proposal that became the Nike Zeus missile. Bell Telephone Laboratories were tasked with evaluating future air defense problems in the 1960 to 1970 time frame, which led to the Nike Zeus proposal. This study showed tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tactical Nuclear Weapon
A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territory. Generally smaller in explosive power, they are defined in contrast to strategic nuclear weapons, which are designed mostly to be targeted at the enemy interior far away from the war front against military bases, cities, towns, arms industries, and other hardened or larger-area targets to damage the enemy's ability to wage war. No tactical nuclear weapons have ever been used in combat. Details Tactical nuclear weapons include gravity bombs, short-range missiles, artillery shells, land mines, depth charges, and torpedoes which are equipped with nuclear warheads. Also in this category are nuclear armed ground-based or shipborne surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and air-to-air missiles. Small, two-man portable or truck-portable tactic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maneuverable Reentry Vehicle
The maneuverable reentry vehicle (abbreviated MARV or MaRV) is a type of warhead for ballistic missile, ballistic missiles that is capable of maneuvering and changing its trajectory. There are two general reasons to use MARV. One is to make it more difficult to track the Atmospheric entry, re-entry vehicle (RV) and thereby make it more difficult to attack as it approaches its target. This was particularly useful against early anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems which took seconds to calculate an interception course. Making random trajectory changes could render these systems useless. This class of MARV is sometimes known as evading MaRVs. The other is to improve accuracy or track moving targets using terminal guidance systems that can act only during the last stages of the flight. This class is sometimes known as accuracy MaRVs. In this case, it is the short range of the active guidance system that demands the RV be able to maneuver, as is the base in the Pershing II active rad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B61 Nuclear Bomb
The B61 nuclear bomb is the primary thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear gravity bomb in the United States Enduring Stockpile following the end of the Cold War. It is a low-to-intermediate yield strategic nuclear weapon, strategic and tactical nuclear weapon featuring a two-stage radiation implosion design. The B61 is of the variable yield ("dial-a-yield" in informal military jargon) design with a yield of 0.3 to 340 kilotons in its various mods ("modifications"). It is a Full Fuzing Option (FUFO) weapon, meaning it is equipped with the full range of fuzing and delivery options, including air and ground burst fuzing, and free-fall, retarded free-fall and Laydown delivery, laydown delivery. It has a streamlined casing capable of withstanding supersonic flight and is long, with a diameter of about . The basic weight of the B-61 is about , although the weights of individual weapons may vary depending on version and fuze/retardation configuration. As of 2020, the weapon was undergoin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Department Of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy-related research, and energy conservation. The DOE was created in 1977 in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis. It sponsors more physical science research than any other U.S. federal agency, the majority of which is conducted through its system of National Laboratories. The DOE also directs research in genomics, with the Human Genome Project originating from a DOE initiative. The department is headed by the secretary of energy, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the Cabinet. The current secretary of energy is Chris Wright, who has served in the position since February 2025. The department's headquarters are in sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) was an arms control treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union (and its successor state, the Russia, Russian Federation). President of the United States, US President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev signed the treaty on 8 December 1987. The United States Senate, US Senate approved the treaty on 27 May 1988, and Reagan and Gorbachev ratified it on 1 June 1988. The INF Treaty banned all of the two nations' nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and missile launchers with ranges of ("intermediate-range") and ("shorter-range"). The treaty did not apply to air- or sea-launched missiles. By May 1991, the nations had eliminated 2,692 missiles, followed by 10 years of on-site verification inspections. President Donald Trump announced on 20 October 2018 that he was withdrawing the US from th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
