Pistol at the temple. How the United States deployed nuclear weapons near the borders of Russia. American nuclear missiles: how it works Small but effective

The development of American nuclear forces is determined by the US military policy, which is based on the concept of "possibility of opportunities." This concept proceeds from the fact that in the 21st century there will be many different threats and conflicts against the United States, uncertain in time, intensity and direction. Therefore, the United States will concentrate its attention in the military field on how to fight, and not on who and when will be the enemy. Accordingly, the US armed forces are faced with the task of having the power to not only withstand a wide range of military threats and military means that any potential adversary may have, but also guarantee the achievement of victory in any military conflicts. Proceeding from this goal, the United States is taking measures to maintain long-term combat readiness of its nuclear forces and improve them. The United States is the only nuclear power that has nuclear weapons on foreign soil.

Currently, two branches of the US armed forces have nuclear weapons - the Air Force (Air Force) and the Navy (Navy).

The Air Force is armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) Minuteman-3 with multiple reentry vehicles (MIRVs), heavy bombers (TB) B-52N and B-2A with long-range air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs) and free-range nuclear bombs. fall, as well as tactical aircraft F-15E and F-16C, -D with nuclear bombs.

The Navy is armed with Trident-2 submarines with Trident-2 D5 ballistic missiles (SLBMs) ​​equipped with MIRVs and long-range sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs).

To equip these carriers in the US nuclear arsenal, there are nuclear munitions (NWs) produced in the 1970-1980s of the last century and updated (renewed) during the bulkheading process in the late 1990s - early 2000s:

- four types of warheads of multiple warheads: for ICBMs - Mk-12A (with a W78 nuclear charge) and Mk-21 (with a W87 nuclear charge), for SLBMs - Mk-4 (with a W76 nuclear charge) and its upgraded version Mk-4A (with nuclear charge W76-1) and Mk-5 (with nuclear charge W88);
- two types of warheads of strategic air-launched cruise missiles - AGM-86B and AGM-129 with a nuclear charge W80-1 and one type of sea-based non-strategic cruise missiles "Tomahawk" with YaZ W80-0 (land-based missile launchers BGM-109G were eliminated under the Treaty INF, their YAZ W84 are on conservation);
- two types of strategic air bombs - B61 (modifications -7, -11) and B83 (modifications -1, -0) and one type of tactical bombs - B61 (modifications -3, -4, -10).

The Mk-12 warheads with YaZ W62, which were in the active arsenal, were completely disposed of in mid-August 2010.

All of these nuclear warheads belong to the first and second generation, with the exception of the V61-11 aerial bomb, which some experts consider as third generation nuclear warheads due to its increased ability to penetrate the ground.

The modern US nuclear arsenal, according to the state of readiness for the use of nuclear warheads included in it, is divided into categories:

The first category is nuclear warheads installed on operationally deployed carriers (ballistic missiles and bombers or located at weapons storage facilities of air bases where bombers are based). Such nuclear warheads are called "operationally deployed".

The second category is nuclear warheads that are in the "operational storage" mode. They are kept ready for installation on carriers and, if necessary, can be installed (returned) on missiles and aircraft. According to American terminology, these nuclear warheads are classified as "operational reserve" and are intended for "operational additional deployment." In essence, they can be considered as "return potential".

The fourth category is reserve nuclear warheads put into the "long-term storage" mode. They are stored (mostly in military warehouses) assembled, but do not contain components with a limited service life - the tritium-containing assemblies and neutron generators have been removed from them. Therefore, the transfer of these nuclear warheads to the "active arsenal" is possible, but requires a significant investment of time. They are intended to replace nuclear warheads of an active arsenal (similar, of similar types) in the event that mass failures (defects) are suddenly found in them, this is a kind of "safety stock".

The US nuclear arsenal does not include decommissioned but not yet dismantled nuclear warheads (their storage and disposal is carried out at the Pantex plant), as well as components of dismantled nuclear warheads (primary nuclear initiators, elements of the second cascade of thermonuclear charges, etc.).

An analysis of openly published data on the types of nuclear warheads of nuclear warheads that are part of the modern US nuclear arsenal shows that nuclear weapons B61, B83, W80, W87 are classified by US specialists as binary thermonuclear charges (TN), nuclear weapons W76 - as binary charges with a gas (thermonuclear ) amplification (BF), and W88 as a binary standard thermonuclear charge (TS). At the same time, the nuclear weapons of aviation bombs and cruise missiles are classified as charges of variable power (V), and the nuclear weapons of ballistic missile warheads can be classified as a set of nuclear weapons of the same type with different yields (DV).

American scientific and technical sources give the following possible ways to change power:

- dosing of the deuterium-tritium mixture when it is supplied to the primary node;
- change in the release time (in relation to the time process of fissile material compression) and the duration of the neutron pulse from an external source (neutron generator);
- mechanical blocking of X-ray radiation from the primary node to the compartment of the secondary node (in fact, the exclusion of the secondary node from the process of a nuclear explosion).

The charges of all types of air bombs (B61, B83), cruise missiles (W80, W84) and some warheads (with charges W87, W76-1) use explosives that have low sensitivity and resistance to high temperatures. In nuclear weapons of other types (W76, W78 and W88), due to the need to ensure a small mass and dimensions of their nuclear weapons while maintaining a sufficiently high power, explosives continue to be used, which have a higher detonation velocity and explosion energy.

At present, the US nuclear warhead uses a fairly large number of systems, instruments and devices of various types that ensure their safety and exclude unauthorized use during autonomous operation and as part of a carrier (complex) in the event of various kinds of emergencies that can occur with aircraft, underwater boats, ballistic and cruise missiles, air bombs equipped with nuclear warheads, as well as with autonomous nuclear warheads during their storage, maintenance and transportation.

These include mechanical safety and arming devices (MSAD), code blocking devices (PAL).

Since the early 1960s, several modifications of the PAL system have been developed and widely used in the United States, with the letters A, B, C, D, F, which have different functionality and design.

To enter codes in PAL installed inside the nuclear warhead, special electronic consoles are used. PAL cases have increased protection against mechanical impacts and are located in the nuclear warhead in such a way as to make it difficult to access them.

In some nuclear warheads, for example, with nuclear warheads W80, in addition to the KBU, a code switching system is installed that allows cocking and (or) switching the power of nuclear weapons on command from the aircraft in flight.

Aircraft monitoring and control systems (AMAC) are used in nuclear bombs, including equipment installed in the aircraft (with the exception of the B-1 bomber), capable of monitoring and controlling systems and components that ensure the safety, protection and detonation of nuclear warheads. With the help of AMAC systems, the command to fire the CCU (PAL), starting with the PAL B modification, can be given from the aircraft just before the bomb is dropped.

The US nuclear warheads, which are part of the modern nuclear arsenal, use systems that ensure their incapacitation (SWS) in the event of a threat of capture. The first versions of the SVS were devices that were capable of disabling individual internal nuclear warhead units on command from the outside or as a result of direct actions of persons from the personnel serving the nuclear warhead who had the appropriate authority and were located near the nuclear warhead at the moment when it became clear that the attackers (terrorists) may gain unauthorized access to it or seize it.

Subsequently, SHS were developed that automatically trigger when unauthorized actions are attempted with a nuclear warhead, primarily when they penetrate it or penetrate into a special “sensitive” container in which a nuclear warhead equipped with an SHS is located.

Specific implementations of SHS are known that allow for partial decommissioning of nuclear warheads by an outside command, partial decommissioning using explosive destruction, and a number of others.

To ensure the safety and protection against unauthorized actions of the existing US nuclear arsenal, a number of measures are used to ensure detonation safety (Detonator Safing - DS), the use of heat-resistant shells pit (Fire Resistant Pit - FRP), low-sensitivity high-energy explosives (Insensitive High Explosive - IHE), providing increased nuclear explosion safety (Enhanced Nuclear Detonator Safety - ENDS), the use of command disable systems (Command Disable System - CDS), protection devices against unauthorized use (Permissive Action Link - PAL). Nevertheless, the overall level of safety and security of the nuclear arsenal from such actions, according to some American experts, does not yet fully correspond to modern technical capabilities. protection.

In the absence of nuclear tests, the most important task is to ensure control and develop measures to ensure the reliability and safety of nuclear warheads that have been in operation for a long time, which exceeds the originally specified warranty periods. In the United States, this problem is being solved with the help of the Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP), which has been operating since 1994. An integral part of this program is the Life Extension Program (LEP), in which nuclear components requiring replacement are reproduced in such a way as to correspond as closely as possible to the original technical characteristics and specifications, and non-nuclear components are upgraded and replace those nuclear warhead components whose warranty periods have expired.

NBP testing for signs of actual or suspected aging is performed by the Enhanced Surveillance Campaign (ESC), which is one of the five companies included in the Engineering Campaign. As part of this company, regular monitoring of nuclear warheads of the arsenal is carried out through a thorough annual examination of 11 nuclear warheads of each type in search of corrosion and other signs of aging. Of the eleven nuclear warheads of the same type selected from the arsenal to study their aging, one is completely disassembled for destructive testing, and the remaining 10 are subjected to non-destructive testing and returned to the arsenal. Using the data obtained as a result of regular monitoring with the help of the SSP program, problems with nuclear warheads are identified, which are eliminated within the framework of the LEP programs. At the same time, the main task is to “increase the duration of existence in the arsenal of nuclear warheads or nuclear warhead components by at least 20 years with an ultimate goal of 30 years” in addition to the initial expected service life. These terms are determined based on the analysis of the results of theoretical and experimental studies on the reliability of complex technical systems and aging processes of materials and various types of components and devices, as well as generalization of data obtained during the implementation of the SSP program for the main components of nuclear warheads by determining the so-called failure function, characterizing the entire set of defects that may arise during the operation of nuclear warheads.

Possible lifetimes of nuclear charges are determined primarily by the lifetimes of plutonium initiators (pits). In the United States, to address the issue of the possible life spans of previously produced pits that are stored or operated as part of nuclear warheads, which are part of the modern arsenal, a research methodology has been developed and is being used to assess the change in properties of Pu-239 over time, characterizing the process of its aging. The methodology is based on a comprehensive analysis of data obtained during field tests and a study of the properties of Pu-239, which is part of the pits tested under the SSP program, as well as data obtained as a result of experiments on accelerated aging, and computer simulation of processes occurring during aging.

Based on the results of the studies, models of the plutonium aging process were developed, which allow us to assume that nuclear weapons remain operational for 45-60 years from the moment of production of the plutonium used in them.

The work carried out within the framework of the SSP allows the United States to keep the above types of nuclear warheads, developed more than 20 years ago, most of which were subsequently upgraded, in its nuclear arsenal for quite a long time, and to ensure a sufficiently high level of their reliability and safety without nuclear testing. .

World leaders in October 2018 managed to inflame the international political situation to the limit. First, Donald Trump remembered US nuclear weapons and said that the country could withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which was signed by Gorbachev and Reagan in 1987. This treaty regulated the elimination of a whole class of weapons intended, including including, for the delivery of nuclear warheads to the territory of the main conditional opponents of that time.

What did Putin say about nuclear war?

And after Trump expressed the opinion that the United States could reconsider its participation in the treaty, Vladimir Putin without thinking twice expressed his vision of this issue, which is best quoted:

“The aggressor must know that retribution is inevitable, that he will be destroyed. And we are a victim of aggression. We, as martyrs, will go to heaven. And they just die. Because they won’t even have time to repent”

These words reverberated across the planet like lightning, bringing peace back to the days of the Cold War, when the major superpowers regularly flexed their muscles and threatened to use nuclear weapons. It seemed to many that these times were long gone, because after the signing of the INF Treaty, Russia and the United States, in fact, lost the opportunity to launch a nuclear strike without harming the other side. To do this, it is necessary that missiles with nuclear charges have a minimum flight time, and this can only be achieved with the help of medium and short-range missiles. Despite the fact that, under the terms of the treaty, such missiles should have been completely destroyed almost 30 years ago, today not only these two superpowers, but also many others have them. The United States was especially successful in this, where, apparently, they were not going to curtail engineering and design work on the production of this type of weapon.

What nuclear weapons does the US have

The United States, as a pioneer country in terms of creating nuclear weapons, today has the most impressive potential of this deadly type of weapon. But you need to understand that the nuclear bomb itself and the means of its delivery, i.e. rocket is not the same thing. Therefore, even despite the large number of US-made nuclear weapons, the potential for their use remains limited by the delivery vehicles on which they can be placed.

Generally speaking, today the United States has:

Total nuclear charges - 1481 units, including:

- for intercontinental ballistic missiles and aircraft - 481 units;

- for submarines - 920 units.

Total nuclear charge carriers - 741 units, including:

- intercontinental ballistic missiles - 431 units;

- submarines capable of carrying ballistic missiles - 59 units;

- strategic bombers - 80 units.

US nuclear weapons are geographically distributed throughout the world. A significant part of the US nuclear arsenal is located in Europe and Turkey. Submarines with nuclear missiles ply the waters of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. And, of course, on the North American continent itself there are dozens of places where nuclear weapons are concentrated, some of which do not look like military installations.

As you know, in 1963 and 1966. treaties were signed that introduced a ban on nuclear testing in the United States, the USSR and other countries. The superpowers constantly increased the power of exploding nuclear bombs, and when in 1961 the 50-megaton Tsar Bomba was tested in the USSR, the explosion of which was recorded by sensors all over the planet, many thought that the end of the world was already close. As a result of the signing of the 1966 treaty, countries lost the opportunity to test the types of nuclear weapons they produce, although some states did not join it for a long time. In 2015, when the United States needed to test the latest modification of the latest B61 atomic bomb, a variant of the rocket without a warhead was used for this. In addition, all nuclear tests in the US are simulated on a supercomputer.

Is the US preparing for a nuclear war with Russia?

Whether it is possible to use nuclear weapons in the near future, we already spoke when we discussed the prospects for an offensive. We repeat that from the point of view of the interests of those in power, such a conflict is unlikely in the coming years, because no one wants to cut the branch on which he “lives”, i.e. destroy their own planet, where people like Trump or Putin feel like masters. Even if we assume that the United States will develop an ultra-fast and targeted version of a nuclear attack on Russia, this will inevitably cause a backlash, similar to the one that Putin spoke about in the words already mentioned above. Yes, and if you look at the policy of the Russian president with an open mind, you can understand that he is closely, and in fact plays with her on the same side.

Therefore, all the words about withdrawal from the missile treaty, the use of nuclear weapons or martyrdom are just ostentatious bravado, designed to once again exacerbate the world political confrontation and make people live in constant fear of the future. We have already mentioned that he is a man put at the head of the United States in order to rock the boat of world politics and economics, and ideally turn everything upside down. And so far he has been successful in doing this, because if this continues, the world will slide into the abyss of global chaos by the beginning of next year.

Economist, analyst. He studied at a special gymnasium, then at the Donetsk National
University of Economics and Trade with a degree in Finance. Graduated from magistracy and
graduate school, after which he worked for several years as a researcher in one of the
institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. At the same time, I received a second
higher education in the specialty "Philosophy and Religious Studies". Prepared for
PhD thesis in economics. I write scientific and journalistic articles with
2010. I am fond of economics, politics, science, religion and many others.

TASS-DOSIER /Vladislav Sorokin/. On August 18, 2016, the European online publication Euractiv reported that the United States began to export nuclear weapons based in Turkey to Romania.

The US Department of Defense declined to comment, the Romanian Foreign Ministry categorically denied this information, and the Turkish side did not react to it.

Currently, US nuclear bombs are deployed on the territory of four EU countries - Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as Turkey.

Story

American nuclear weapons (NW) have been stationed in Europe since the mid-1950s. Its possible use in the form of aerial bombs and ammunition for artillery systems and short-range missiles (tactical nuclear weapons) was considered by the leadership of NATO and the United States as an asymmetric response to the event of a large-scale conflict with the countries of the Warsaw Pact, which had an advantage in conventional weapons. In 1954, the corresponding NATO Strategic Concept "Shield and Sword" was adopted.

As a result, tactical nuclear weapons were deployed in the member states of the alliance that were in the path of a likely Soviet offensive: Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. In Turkey, the southern flank of NATO was covered by medium-range missiles (their deployment provoked the Caribbean crisis of 1962), and the possible movement of the Soviet Army and its allies through the Balkans had to be deterred by nuclear forces located in Greece and Italy.

All these countries were given the opportunity to participate in the planning of the use of nuclear weapons, and their military personnel and aviation began to be involved in training in delivering nuclear strikes. The program was called Nuclear sharing - "joint nuclear missions of NATO member countries" (another translation is "sharing of nuclear responsibility").

According to experts, the largest number of American tactical nuclear weapons in Europe was reached by the beginning of the 1970s. In 1971, the number of charges deployed on the continent was about 7,300. In 1983, in response to the deployment of the Soviet Pioneer medium-range missile system, the United States began to deploy its Pershing-2 medium-range missiles and Tomahawk nuclear-powered cruise missiles. warheads in Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

Since the late 1980s the number of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe was declining: by 1991, the Soviet-American treaty on the elimination of medium and short-range missiles of 1987 was fulfilled. In 2000, according to the directive of US President Clinton, 480 US nuclear bombs remained in Europe and Turkey, while 300 of them were intended for use by the US Air Force, and 180 - for the Air Force of host countries. In 2001, the administration of George W. Bush began the withdrawal of tactical nuclear weapons from Great Britain and Greece, and in 2004 the arsenal in Germany was reduced (130 nuclear warheads were withdrawn from the Ramstein base).

Number of bombs and their placement

The United States "does not directly confirm or deny" the presence of its tactical nuclear weapons abroad, while official documents mention the storage of "special weapons" at safe facilities in Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Turkey.

To date, experts (including those from the Federation of American Scientists, FAS) estimate the number of US nuclear atomic bombs in Europe and Turkey at 150-200. These are B-61 type bombs with a total capacity of 18 megatons. They are located at six air bases: in Germany (Büchel, more than 20 pieces), Italy (Aviano and Gedi, 70-110 pieces), Belgium (Kleine Brogel, 10-20 pieces), the Netherlands (Volkel, 10-20 pieces) and Turkey (Incirlik, 50-90 pieces).

Bombs are in underground storages (more than 80 in total). For their delivery to targets, about 400 aircraft can be used: F-15E fighter-bombers, F-16 multi-role fighters and Tornado GR4 fighter-bombers from the US Air Force, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey. There are three levels of readiness of squadrons to perform combat missions in nuclear equipment (up to 35, 160 and 350 days). Since 2000, NATO has spent more than $80 million maintaining the bomb storage infrastructure at these bases.

Modernization

In September 2015, it became known that the United States would deploy its new bombs of the B61-12 type at the Büchel airbase in Germany. This modification is the first nuclear aerial bomb, which has guidance systems with increased hit accuracy, and its mass production will begin in 2020.

According to Aleksey Arbatov, head of the Center for International Security at IMEMO RAS, the increased accuracy and variable power of modernized bombs may increase the likelihood that the NATO leadership will decide on a limited nuclear war.

Criticism

The deployment of US tactical nuclear weapons in the region was accompanied by protests by the local population and pacifist organizations during the Cold War.

Now nuclear experts in the United States (in particular, Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the University of Monterey) are questioning the wisdom of keeping tactical nuclear weapons in Belgium - because of the threat of terrorism and non-compliance with security requirements - and in Turkey - because of the unstable political situation. after the attempted military coup on July 15, 2016

Russian officials have repeatedly said that the deployment of US tactical nuclear weapons in Europe and Turkey is a violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

As soon as hostilities in Europe ended, the United States was the first in the world to test an atomic bomb. This happened on July 16, 1945. However, the beginning of the United States nuclear program was laid much earlier.

The US nuclear weapons development program started in October 1941 - the Americans feared that Nazi Germany would receive a superweapon earlier and be able to launch a preemptive strike. This program went down in history as the Manhattan Project. The project was led by the American physicist Robert Oppenheimer, who was constantly under surveillance because he actively sympathized with the left movement. However, the latter fact did not prevent him from taking part in the development of deadly weapons - the physicist was very worried about the events in Europe.

The researchers developed the Fat Man bomb, which worked on the basis of the decay of plutonium-239 and had an implosive detonation scheme. In addition, Oppenheimer commissioned a separate group to develop a bomb of simple design, which was supposed to work only on uranium-235 and was called "Baby". On August 6, 1945, the Americans dropped it on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

It was decided to detonate the implosion-type plutonium bomb first, the explosion of which is directed inwards. In fact, it was an analogue of the "Fat Man", which did not have an outer shell.

Due to the top secrecy of development, it was decided to conduct tests in the south of New Mexico at a test site located about 100 km from Alamogordo.

The atomic bomb "Trinity" two days before the test was installed on a steel tower, at various distances from which were located seismographs, cameras, instruments that record the level of radiation and pressure.

The first nuclear explosion in the history of mankind took place on July 16, 1945 at 5.30 local time, and the explosion power was 15-20 thousand tons of explosives in TNT equivalent. At the same time, the light from the explosion was visible at a distance of 290 km from the test site, and the sound propagated over a distance of about 160 km.

“My first impression was the feeling of a very bright light flooding everything around, and when I turned around, I saw a picture of a fireball now familiar to many ... Soon, literally 50 seconds after the explosion, a shock wave reached us. I was surprised by her comparative weakness. In fact, the shock wave was not so weak. It's just that the flash of light was so strong and so unexpected that the reaction to it reduced our susceptibility for a while, ”Leslie Groves, military director of the Manhattan Project.

In addition, in the center of the explosion in a circle with a radius of 370 m, all vegetation was destroyed and a crater appeared, and the metal and concrete structures located there completely evaporated. The cloud formed during the explosion rose to a height of 12.5 km - while traces of radioactive contamination were observed even at a distance of 160 km from the test site, and the contamination zone was about 50 km.

“We knew the world would never be the same again. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most were silent. I remembered a line from the holy book of Hinduism, the Bhagavad Gita - Vishnu tries to persuade the Prince that he must do his duty, and to impress him, takes on his many-armed form and says: "I am Death, the great destroyer of the worlds." I believe that we all, one way or another, thought about something like that, ”- remembered later the "father" of the bomb Oppenheimer.

The American president told Joseph Stalin about the successful bomb tests already on July 17, when the Potsdam Conference started in Berlin, which allowed the United States to conduct a dialogue with the USSR from a position of strength. But the successful test of the first Soviet atomic bomb took place only after four years, on August 29, 1949.

Russia United Kingdom France China Other
India Israel (undeclared) Pakistan North Korea Former
South Africa Belarus Kazakhstan Ukraine

By 1998, at least $759 million had been given to the Marshall Islands in compensation for their exposure to US nuclear testing. In February 2006, more than $1.2 billion in compensation was paid to US citizens exposed to a nuclear hazard as a result of the US nuclear weapons program.

Russia and the US have a comparable number of nuclear warheads; together, these two countries possess over 90% of the world's nuclear warheads. As of 2019, the US has a list of 6,185 nuclear warheads; of these, 2,385 are retired and awaiting dismantling and +3,800 are part of the US arsenal. Of the stockpiles of warheads, the US declared in March 2019 START declaration, 1365 deployed on 656 ICBMs, SLBMs and strategic bombers.

History of development

Manhattan Project

The United States first began developing nuclear weapons during World War II at the behest of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1939, out of fear that they were in a race with Nazi Germany to develop such weapons. After a slow start under the guidance, at the urging of British scientists and American administrators, the program was placed under the Office of Research and Development, and in 1942 it was officially transferred under the auspices of the United States Army and became known as the Manhattan Project, in the American, British and Canadian joint venture. Under the direction of General Leslie Groves, over thirty different sites were built to research, manufacture and test components related to making bombs. These included the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, under the direction of physicist Robert Oppenheimer, the Hanford Plutonium Plant in Washington, and the Y-12 Homeland Security Complex in Tennessee.

By investing heavily in breeding plutonium in early nuclear reactors and in electromagnetic and gaseous enrichment processes to produce uranium-235, the United States was able to develop three usable weapons by mid-1945. Trinity's test was a plutonium implosion weapon design tested on 16 July 1945, with around 20 kilotons yield.

Faced with a planned invasion of the Japanese Islands scheduled to begin on November 1, 1945, and with Japan not giving up, President Harry S. Truman ordered atomic raids on Japan. On August 6, 1945, the US detonated a uranium cannon bomb design, Little Boy, over the Japanese city of Hiroshima with an energy of about 15 kilotons of TNT, killing about 70,000 people, among them 20,000 Japanese fighters and 20,000 Korean slave labor, and destroying about 50 000 buildings (including 2nd General Army and 5th Division Headquarters). Three days later, on August 9, the US attacked Nagasaki using a plutonium implosion bomb design, Fat Man, with the equivalent of an explosion of up to about 20 kilotons of TNT, destroying 60% of the city and killing about 35,000 people, among them 23,200–28,200 Japanese ordnance workers, 2000 Korean hijacked and 150 Japanese combat.

During the Cold War

Between 1945 and 1990, over 70,000 total warheads were developed, in over 65 different grades, ranging in yield from about 0.01 kt (such as the Davy Crockett wearable shell) to 25 megaton B41 bombs. Between 1940 and 1996, the US spent at least $9.3 trillion in modern terms to develop nuclear weapons. More than half was spent building delivery mechanisms for weapons. $583 billion in today's conditions has been spent on nuclear waste management and environmental restoration.

Throughout the Cold War, the US and the USSR were threatened with an all-out nuclear attack in the event of war, whether it was a conventional or nuclear confrontation. US nuclear doctrine called for Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), which entailed a massive nuclear attack against strategic targets and core populations of the Soviet Union and its allies. The term "mutual assured destruction" was coined in 1962 by American strategist Donald Brennan. MAD was implemented by deploying nuclear weapons simultaneously on three different types of weapon platforms.

Post Cold War

A few notable US nuclear tests include:

• The Trinity test on July 16, 1945, was the world's first nuclear weapon test (yield about 20,000).
• The Operation Crossroads series, in July 1946, was the first post-war test series and one of the largest military operations in US history.
• Operation Greenhouse shots in May 1951 included the first enhanced fission weapon test ("Item") and a scientific test that proved the feasibility of a thermonuclear weapon ("George").
• The Ivy Mike shot on November 1, 1952 was the first full test of the Teller-Ulam design "delivered" a hydrogen bomb, with a yield of 10 megatons. It was not a deployable weapon, however, with its full cryogenic equipment, it weighed around 82 tons.
• The Castle Bravo gunned down on March 1, 1954 was the first test of a deployable (solid fuel) thermonuclear weapon, and also (accidentally) the largest weapon ever tested by the United States (15 megatons). It was also the largest radiation accident in the United States in connection with nuclear testing. An unforeseen exit, and a change in the weather, as a result of the fallout spread eastward to the inhabited Rongelap and Rongerik atolls, which were soon evacuated. Many of the Marshall Islands have since suffered from birth defects and have received some compensation from the federal government. Japanese fishing boat fukurit-mara, also came into contact with precipitation, which led many of the crew to rise badly; one eventually died.
• The Argus I shot from Operation Argus, on 27 August 1958, was the first detonation of a nuclear weapon in outer space when a 1.7-kiloton warhead was detonated at an altitude of 200 kilometers (120 mi) over a series of high-altitude nuclear explosions.
• The frigate's firing from Operation Dominic I on May 6, 1962, was the only US test of an operational submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) with a live nuclear warhead (yield 600 kilotons), on Christmas Island. In general, missile systems were tested without live warheads and warheads were tested separately for safety reasons. In the early 1960s, however, technical questions were raised about how the systems would behave in combat (when they were "twinned", in military jargon), and this test was intended to allay those fears. However, the warhead had to be somewhat modified before use, and the missile was an SLBM (not an ICBM), so it did not solve all the problems on its own.
• The Sedan shot from Operation Styrax on 6 July 1962 (yielding 104 kilotons), was an attempt to show the possibility of using nuclear weapons for "civilian" and "peaceful" purposes, as part of Operation Plowshare. In this example, a 1,280 ft (390 m) diameter 320 ft (98 m) depth crater was created at the Nevada Test Site.

A summary table of each American operational series can be found in the United States Nuclear Test Series.

delivery systems

From the left are the Peacekeeper, Minuteman III and Minuteman I

The original Little Boy and Fat Man weapons, developed by the United States during the Manhattan Project, were relatively large (the Fat Man had a diameter of 5 feet (1.5 m)) and heavy (about 5 tons each) and required specially modified bomber aircraft to adapt for their bombing missions against Japan. Each modified bomber could only carry one such weapon, and only within a limited range. After these initial weapons were developed, a significant amount of money and research was carried out towards the goal of standardizing nuclear warheads so that they do not require highly specialized experts to assemble them before use, as is the case with special wartime devices, and miniaturizations. warheads for use in systems with variable over delivery.

With the help of brains acquired from Operation Paperclip at the tail end of the European theater of World War II, the United States was able to embark on an ambitious program in rocket science. One of the first products of this was the development of missiles capable of holding nuclear warheads. The MGR-1 Honest John was the first such weapon, developed in 1953 as a surface-to-surface missile with a radius of no more than 15 miles (24 km). Due to their limited range, their potential use was severely limited (they could not, for example, threaten Moscow with an immediate strike).

B-36 Peacekeeper in flight

The development of long-range bombers, such as the B-29 Superfortress during World War II, was continued during the Cold War period. In 1946, the Convair B-36 Peacemaker became the first purpose-built nuclear bomber; it served in the US Air Force until 1959. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress was unable by the mid-1950s to carry a wide arsenal of nuclear bombs, each with different capabilities and potential use cases. Beginning in 1946, the US based its initial deterrence of force on the Strategic Air Command which, in the late 1950s, maintained a number of nuclear-armed bombers in the skies at all times, ready to be ordered to attack the USSR when needed. This system was, however, extremely expensive, both in terms of natural and human resources, and also raised the possibility of an accidental nuclear war.

During the 1950s and 1960s, computerized early warning systems developed, such as defense support programs were developed to detect incoming Soviet attacks and coordinate response strategies. During this same period, intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) systems were developed that could deliver a nuclear weapon over vast distances, allowing the US to deploy nuclear forces capable of hitting the Soviet Union in the American Midwest. Shorter-range weapons, including small tactical weapons, were sent to Europe as well, including nuclear artillery and a man-portable dedicated nuclear bomb. The development of submarine-launched ballistic missile systems allowed covert nuclear submarines to covertly launch missiles at long range targets as well, making it almost impossible for the Soviet Union to successfully launch a first strike attack against the United States without receiving a lethal response.

Improvements in warhead miniaturization in the 1970s and 1980s allowed for the development of MIRV missiles that could carry warheads, each of which could be individually targeted. The question of whether these missiles should be based on constantly rotating railroad tracks (to avoid being easily targeted against Soviet missiles) or based in heavily fortified bunkers (to possibly withstand Soviet attacks) was a major political controversy in the 1980s. (in the end, the bunker deployment method was chosen). The MIRV system allowed the US to render Soviet missile defense systems economically unfeasible, as each offensive missile required three to ten defensive missiles to counter.

Additional changes to the weapons delivery included missile cruise systems, which allowed the aircraft to fire long-range, low-flying nuclear missile warheads towards the target from a relatively comfortable distance.

Existing US delivery systems make virtually any part of the earth's surface within reach of its nuclear arsenal. Although its land-based missile systems have a maximum range of 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) (less than worldwide), its force-based submarines extend their reach from the coastline 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) inland. In addition, in-flight refueling of long-range bombers and the use of aircraft carriers expands the possible range almost indefinitely.

Management and control

If the United States is actually under attack by a nuclear capable adversary, the President can only order nuclear strikes as a member of the two-man National Command Authority, the other member being the Secretary of Defense. Their joint decision is to be passed on to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who will direct the National Military Command Center to issue Action Emergency messages to nuclear-capable forces.

The president can order a nuclear launch using his or her nuclear briefcase (nicknamed nuclear football), or one can use command centers such as the White House Situation Room. The command will be carried out by a nuclear and missile operations officer (a member of the missile combat crew, also called a "missileer") at the Missile Launch Control Center. The two-man rule applies to launching rockets, meaning that two employees must turn the keys at the same time (far enough apart that it can't be done by one person).

In general, these institutions served to coordinate scientific research and create websites. Typically, they had their sites with the help of contractors, however, both private and public (for example, Union Carbide, a private company, ran Oak Ridge National Laboratory for decades, while the University of California, a public educational institution, ran Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore Laboratories since their inception, and will also co-manage Los Alamos with the private company Bechtel as their next contract). Funding was received both through these agencies directly, but also from additional external agencies such as the Department of Defense. Each branch of the military also maintains its own nuclear-related research facilities (usually related to delivery systems).

production complex Arms

This table is not exhaustive, as numerous sites throughout the United States have contributed to its nuclear weapons program. It includes the main sites associated with the US weapons program (past and present), their main site features, and their current state of operation. Not on the list are the numerous bases and facilities where nuclear weapons have been deployed. In addition to placing weapons on its own soil, during the Cold War, the United States also stationed nuclear weapons in 27 foreign countries and territories, including Okinawa (which was under US control until 1971), Japan (during the occupation immediately after World War II), Greenland, Germany, Taiwan, and French Morocco then independent Morocco.

Name of the site	Location	function	Status
National Laboratory at Los Alamos	Los Alamos, New Mexico	Research, Design, Pit Manufacturing	active
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory	Livermore, California	Research and Development	active
Sandia National Laboratories	Livermore, California; Albuquerque, New Mexico	Research and Development	active
Site Hanford	Richland, Washington	Production material (plutonium)	Not active in rehabilitation
Oak Ridge National Laboratory	Oak Ridge, Tennessee	Material production (uranium-235, leaked fuel), research	Active to some extent
Y-12 National Security Complex	Oak Ridge, Tennessee	Component fabrication, strategic management stocks, uranium storage	active
Nevada Test Site	Near Las Vegas, Nevada	Nuclear testing and nuclear waste disposal	Active; no tests since 1992, currently engaged in waste disposal
Yucca Mountain	Nevada Test Site	Waste management (primarily power reactor)	Pending
Waste separation pilot plant	East of Carlsbad, New Mexico	Radioactive waste from the production of nuclear weapons	active
Pacific polygons	Marshall Islands	Nuclear tests	Inactive, last tested in 1962
Rocky Flats Factory	Near Denver, Colorado	Fabrication Components	Not active in rehabilitation
pantex	Amarillo, Texas	Weapon assembly, disassembly, storage pit	active, esp. disassembly
Fernald Site	Near Cincinnati, Ohio	Production material (uranium-238)	Not active in rehabilitation
Paducah plant	Paducah, Kentucky	Material production (uranium-235)	Active (commercial use)
portsmouth factory	Near Portsmouth, Ohio	Production material (uranium-235)	Active (centrifuge), but not for weapons production
Kansas City Plant	Kansas City, Missouri	Production component	active
Mound plant	Miamisburg, Ohio	Research, component manufacturing, tritium purification	Not active in rehabilitation
Pinellas plant	Largo, Florida	Production of electrical components	Active, but not for weapons production
Savannah River Site	Aiken Row, South Carolina	Production material (plutonium, tritium)	Active (limited mode), in rehabilitation

proliferation

Early in the development of its nuclear weapons, the United States relied in part on sharing information with both Britain and Canada, codified in the Quebec Agreement of 1943. The three parties agreed not to share nuclear weapons information with other countries without the consent of the others, an early attempt at non-proliferation. Since the development of the first nuclear weapons during World War II, however, there has been much debate within the political circles and public life of the United States about whether or not the country should attempt to maintain a monopoly on nuclear technology, or whether it should pursue an information exchange program with other countries. (especially his former ally and likely competitor, the Soviet Union), or submit control of his weapons to some international organization (such as the UN) who will use them to try and keep world peace. Although the fear of a nuclear arms race spurred many politicians and scientists to advocate some degree of international control or sharing of nuclear weapons and information, many politicians and military personnel believed it was best in the short term to maintain high standards of nuclear secrecy and prevent a Soviet bomb as long as possible ( and they do not believe that the USSR actually represents international control in good faith).

Since this path was chosen, the United States, in the early days, was essentially in favor of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, although primarily for self-preservation reasons. A few years after the USSR detonated its first weapon in 1949, though, the US under President Dwight Eisenhower is seeking to encourage nuclear information exchange programs related to civilian nuclear power and nuclear physics in general. The Atoms for Peace program, begun in 1953, was also partly political: the US was better prepared to commit various scarce resources, such as enriched uranium, to these peace efforts and to ask for a similar contribution from the Soviet Union, which had far fewer resources along those lines. ; Thus, the program had a strategic rationale, and, as it turned out later, internal memos. This overall goal of promoting the civilian use of nuclear energy in other countries, as well as preventing the proliferation of weapons, has been cited by many critics as controversial and resulted in loose standards over a number of decades, allowing a number of other countries, such as China and India, to profit from dual-use technology (purchased from nations other than the US).

The Cooperative Threat Reduction Agency's Defense Threat Reduction program was established after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 to assist former Soviet bloc countries in inventorying and destroying their sites for the development of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as well as the means by which they are delivered (silo ICBMs, long-range bombers, etc.). More than $4.4 billion was spent in this area to prevent the targeted or accidental distribution of weapons from the former Soviet arsenal.