W93

United States thermonuclear warhead

For the polyhedron, see Great truncated cuboctahedron.

W93

Type| Nuclear weapon
Service history
In service| Planned from 2034
Used by| United States Navy
Production history
Designer| Los Alamos National Laboratory
Designed| Planned from 2023
Specifications

Detonation
mechanism

| Contact, airburst

The W93 is an American nuclear warhead planned to replace the W76 and W88 warheads on United States Navy submarines from 2034. The warhead will be carried on the new Columbia-class submarines[1] and will use a new aeroshell, the Mark 7 reentry body (RB).[2] The warhead will be designed by Los Alamos National Laboratory.[3]

The Mark 7 RB will also be used to house the United Kingdom's new warhead, designed in parallel to the W93 and sharing some non-nuclear components.[4]

## Design

[edit]

The warhead is expected to incorporate improved safety features such as insensitive high explosives.[1] The design will be based on previously tested nuclear components and will not require nuclear testing.[5]

## See also

[edit]

* Trident (UK nuclear programme)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Kramer, David (2020). "Take your pick: A new warhead or a "new program of record"". Physics Today. 73 (4): 26–28. Bibcode:2020PhT....73d..26K. doi:10.1063/PT.3.4451. S2CID 216372082.
2. ^ The W93 Warhead (PDF) (Report). Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
3. ^ W93/MK7 Acquisition Program (PDF). National Nuclear Security Administration. Jan 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
4. ^ Harries, Matthew (22 October 2020). "Will America Help Britain Build a New Nuclear Warhead?". War on the Rocks. Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
5. ^ Whitney Spivey (26 July 2021). "Envisioning the W93". Los Alamos National Laboratory. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.

* v
* t
* e

United States nuclear devices

Fission
(including
boosted)|

| Gravity bombs|

* Little Boy (Mark 1)
* Thin Man (Mark 2)
* Fat Man (Mark 3)
* Mark 4
* Mark 5
* Mark 6
* Mark 7
* Mark 8
* Mark 10
* Mark 11
* Mark 12
* Mark 13
* Mark 18
* Mark 20
* Mk 105
* B57

|

Warheads|

* W4
* W5
* W7
* W8
* W12
* W13
* W25
* W30
* W31
* W34
* W37
* W40
* W42
* W44
* W45
* XW-51
* W54
* W72
* W76-2
* W81

Depth bombs|

* Mark 90
* Mk 101
* Mk 105
* B57

Artillery|

* W9
* W19
* W23
* W33
* W48
* W54
* W74
* W75
* W79-1
* W82-1

Atomic demolition
munitions|

* XM1 ADM
* T2 ADM
* T4
* Medium Atomic Demolition Munition (MADM)
* Special Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM)
* Tactical Atomic Demolition Munition (TADM)

Thermonuclear|

| Gravity bombs|

* Mark 14
* Mark 15
* TX16
* Mark 17
* Mark 21
* TX22
* Mark 24
* Mark 26
* Mark 27
* B28
* Mark 36
* Mark 39
* B41
* B43
* TX46
* B53
* B61
* B77
* B83
* B90

|

Depth bombs|

* B90

Warheads|

* W15
* W27
* W28
* TX29
* XW-35
* W38
* W39
* W41
* XW-46
* W47
* W49
* W50
* W52
* W53
* W55
* W56
* W58
* W59
* W60
* W61
* W62
* W63
* W64
* W67
* W68
* W69
* W70
* W71
* W73
* W76
* W78
* W80
* W84
* W85
* W86
* W87
* W88
* W89
* W91
* Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW)
* W93

Enhanced
radiation|

| Warheads|

* W63
* W64
* W65
* W66
* W70-3

|

Artillery|

* W79-0
* W82-0

Primary stages|

* Robin
* Swan
* Python
* Tsetse
* Kinglet
* Starling

Experimental|

* Gadget
* Sausage
* RACER IV

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