| Abstract |
Most current U.S. nuclear warheads were built in the 1970s and 1980s and are being retained longer than was planned. Yet they deteriorate and must be maintained. To correct problems, a Life Extension Program (LEP), part of a larger Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP), replaces components. Modifying some components would require a nuclear test, but the United States has observed a test moratorium since 1992 so LEP rebuilds these components as closely as possible to original specifications. With this approach, the Secretaries of Defense and Energy have certified stockpile safety and reliability for the past 11 years without nuclear testing. In the FY2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Congress provided $9 million to initiate the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program. The program trades key Cold War features such as high yield and low weight to gain features more valuable now, such as lower cost and improved use control. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which operates the U.S. nuclear weapons program, views RRW as part of a plan that would also modernize the nuclear weapons complex (the Complex), avoid nuclear testing, and reduce non-deployed weapons. The Nuclear Weapons Council, a joint NNSA- Department of Defense organization that coordinates nuclear weapons matters, conducted a competition for an RRW design, with the winning design selected in March 2007. |
