According to official news released by the United States, the W93 nuclear warhead will adopt a submarine-launchable design and will be loaded with insensitive high-energy explosives. The new weapon will be fitted to the next-generation Columbia- and Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarines currently under construction by the U.S. military
In late April, the US Department of Defense announced that it was preparing to develop the first new nuclear warhead in 40 years to "keep pace with future adversary threats."
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Gil Hruby said in speeches prepared for Senate testimony that the United States will develop the W93 nuclear warhead because the country has entered a world full of global threats.
Photo: U.S. Navy/James Kimber
Related reports indicate that the W93 nuclear warhead is one of the projects included in the US National Nuclear Security Administration's total $19.3 billion budget request for fiscal year 2025.
Since 2022, scientific researchers have been conducting feasibility studies on the W93 nuclear warhead at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, USA. The new warheads will be based on existing designs and therefore will not require nuclear testing before being put into service.
This new nuclear warhead program will significantly enhance U.S. maritime nuclear strike capabilities.
According to official news released by the United States, the W93 nuclear warhead will adopt a submarine-launchable design and will be loaded with insensitive high-energy explosives.
The new weapon will be fitted to the next-generation Columbia- and Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarines currently under construction by the U.S. military.
In the future, this type of nuclear warhead will gradually replace the currently deployed W76, W87 and W88 nuclear warheads and serve as the main force of US submarine-launched nuclear warheads.
The US Navy's Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarines are currently equipped with D5 "Trident II" ballistic missiles, and the Columbia class will be equipped with an improved version of this missile.
According to reports, once these missiles are equipped with W93 nuclear warheads, their reliability, penetration capability and strike effects will improve.
The US sea-based nuclear force will also form a “three new” arrangement: new nuclear submarines, new nuclear missiles and new nuclear warheads.
Official US documents and related reports show that the United States will spend more than $750 billion over the next 10 years to comprehensively upgrade its nuclear attack system.
Furthermore, the “Nuclear Posture Review Report” released by the US Biden administration in 2022 changed the statement of US nuclear policy objectives from “deterrence and response to nuclear attacks” to “deterrence and providing assurances to allies and partners”.
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