Warhead

A B61 nuclear bomb in various stages of assembly; the nuclear warhead is the bullet-shaped silver canister in the middle-left of the photograph.

A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb.

## Contents

* 1 Classification
* 2 Detonators
* 3 See also
* 4 References

## Classification

Types of warheads include:

* Explosive: An explosive charge is used to disintegrate the target, and damage surrounding areas with a blast wave.
* Conventional: Chemicals such as gunpowder and high explosives store significant energy within their molecular bonds. This energy can be released quickly by a trigger, such as an electric spark. Thermobaric weapons enhance the blast effect by utilizing the surrounding atmosphere in their explosive reactions.
* Blast: A strong shock wave is provided by the detonation of the explosive.
* Fragmentation: Metal fragments are projected at high velocity to cause damage or injury.
* Continuous rod: Metal bars welded on their ends form a compact cylinder of interconnected rods, which is violently expanded into a contiguous zig-zag-shaped ring by an explosive detonation. The rapidly expanding ring produces a planar cutting effect that is devastating against military aircraft, which may be designed to be resistant to shrapnel.
* Shaped charge: The effect of the explosive charge is focused onto a specially shaped metal liner to project a hypervelocity jet of metal, to perforate heavy armour.
* Explosively formed penetrator: Instead of turning a thin metal liner into a focused jet, the detonation wave is directed against a concave metal plate at the front of the warhead, propelling it at high velocity while simultaneously deforming it into a projectile.
* Nuclear: A runaway nuclear fission (fission bomb) or nuclear fusion (Thermonuclear weapon) reaction causes immense energy release.
* Chemical: A toxic chemical, such as poison gas or nerve gas, is dispersed, which is designed to injure or kill human beings.
* Biological: An infectious agent, such as anthrax spores, is dispersed, which is designed to sicken or kill humans.

Often, a biological or chemical warhead will use an explosive charge for rapid dispersal.

## Detonators

Explosive warheads contain detonators to trigger the explosion.

Types of detonators include:

Type  | Definition

|

Contact  | When the warhead makes physical contact with the target, the explosive is detonated. Sometimes combined with a delay, to detonate a specific amount of time after contact.
Proximity | Using radar, sonar, a magnetic sensor, or a laser, the warhead is detonated when the target is within a specified distance. It is often coupled with directional explosion control system that ensures that the explosion sends the fragmentation primarily towards the target that triggered it.
Timed  | Warhead is detonated after a specific amount of time.
Altitude  | Warhead is detonated once it falls to a specified altitude, usually in an air burst.
Remote  | Remotely detonated via signal from operator. (Not normally used for warheads except for self-destruction)
Combined  | Any combination of the above.

## See also

* Guidance system
* List of aircraft weapons
* List of missiles
* Nuclear weapon yield
* Missile

## References

1. "The B61 (Mk-61) Bomb". 9 January 2007. http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/B61.html.
2. "B61". April 16, 2017. http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/b61.htm.
3. "B61 Nuclear Gravity Bomb". http://www.brookings.edu/projects/archive/nucweapons/b61.aspx.
4. Stephen I. Schwartz. "Atomic Audit - The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940". Brookings Institution Press, 1998.
5. "B61 Thermonuclear Bomb". 2008. http://www.hill.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=5707.
6. "NNSA Achieves Significant Milestone for B61 Bomb". June 30, 2006. http://nnsa.energy.gov/news/1032.htm.
7. Chuck Hansen, U.S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History, (New York: Orion Books, 1988), pp. 162–164.

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