nuclear-news

Pentagon and DOE keen for new nuclear weapons

Debating Nuclear Deterrence Pentagon pushes to retool older weapon…because newer one is too destructive TIME By Mark Thompson @MarkThompson_DCOct. 31, 2013 Weighing the utility of nuclear weapons has always been more theology than science. That was made clear again Tuesday when the House Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces subcommittee poked into the need to spend $10 billion or more improving the Pentagon’s existing arsenal of B61 nuclear bombs.

The advocates of a reliable, potent and fresh nuclear deterrent argue that investing in a retooled B61 is a good use of scarce taxpayer dollars. Those less inclined to spend money on nuclear weapons no one ever wants to see used suggest newer B83s can do the job for at least the next decade. They are the only two bomber-dropped gravity bombs left in the U.S. atomic arsenal.

Not surprisingly, the representatives from the Pentagon and the Department of Energy, which builds the nation’s nukes, support the modernization plan……..

The B83, truth be told, is a city-destroyer. First detonated in 1984, its yield (adjustable, but about a megaton) is 75 times that of the “Little Boy” that destroyed Hiroshima. The B61 also sports an adjustable yield, but it ranges from a much more modest 0.3 to 340 kilotons, no more that a third of the B83′s punch. In the nuclear realm, that makes it more of a threat — because of its smaller yield, it is more likely to be used — and consequently generates more deterrence……..
Debating Nuclear Deterrence | TIME.com http://swampland.time.com/2013/10/31/debating-nuclear-deterrence/#ixzz2jQFH8DKm

November 1, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war