US's Most Powerful Nuclear Bomb Being Dismantled

ABC NEWS ^ | October 25, 2011 | BETSY BLANEY

[penelopesire]

"The last of the nation's most powerful nuclear bombs — a weapon hundreds of times stronger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima — is being disassembled nearly half a century after it was put into service at the height of the Cold War. The final components of the B53 bomb will be broken down Tuesday at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, the nation's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility. The completion of the dismantling program is a year ahead of schedule, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, and aligns with President Barack Obama's goal of reducing the number of nuclear weapons. Thomas D'Agostino, the nuclear administration's chief, called the bomb's elimination a "significant milestone."

[ExSoldier]

Lessee, when I attended the US Army school for Nuclear, Biological & Chemical Warfare (oh so many eons ago in the 1980s) the instructor gave us notes on the detonation of a 25 megaton warhead -- to the tune of: "Imagine a freight train loaded with 25 MILLION tons of TNT, traveling past a fixed point at 50mph. Such a train would take eight HOURS to pass that point at that speed. That translates out to a train that would stretch about the distance from Miami, Florida to Baltimore, Maryland in unbroken length. Now imagine all of that going up at once!" Now, that is imagery.

But we have no real need for those city busters in our inventory. Why use them, especially on an OPEC nation and irradiate all that oil for so long a time period? Why not just pull out the NEUTRON BOMB and vaporize all animal and human flesh with the residual radiation dissipating within four days or so? We can walk in and take over any country like it was brand new and uninhabited. Why not? Oh yeah, Jimmeh "The PEANUT" Cartah made us take that handy little device out of the inventory back when HE was the worst POTUS in history!

[ExSoldier]

It should have been used on the Hajj.

Result = Oil Under Glass.

[2harddrive]

I am PRETTY SURE we had at least one deployed 24 megaton bomb flown about in B-52’s, and maybe B-58’s. See below.
B41 Y1 NGB Sep 1960 1960 1976 Jul 1976 3-stage TN, dirty 4840 ~25 500

[ExSoldier]

near some Korean War era barracks that are surrounded with maple and oak trees. What a great place to stroll at noon. Lots of memories there now.

As pictured in the 007 movie Goldfinger and which was the site of my first experience with Army ROTC in 1977. I attended a 6 week "Basic Camp" to bring me up to speed so that I could sign a full on contract and start my junior year at the University of Alabama as an Officer Candidate the following year. And yes some very intense memories linger. We used to go to the Officer's Club bar called The Fiddler's Green. Still there?

[Gaffer]

We have plenty of oil in NA and in the gulf...we don’t need their damned oil. Let them drink it for water while they’re looking for 50,000 SPF sunblock....screw them.

[mkjessup]

I don’t have a problem with necessary maintenance of warheads or with dismantling of obsolete weapons.

Well then this article shouldn't bother any of us.

I do have a problem with unilateral disarmament, and I think Americans are owed an explanation that includes information on the status of our national defense.

No argument there.

I do not trust a world-government, Marxist president and his anti-American cronies to preserve our country.

Absolutely correct. Unfortunately for us, our Nation is essentially in the hands of a Communist regime without any validity whatsoever, it operates with a fig leaf of faux legitimacy, and the abuses that it has already perpetrated against the American people no doubt have our Founding Fathers roaring from the grave saying "what is it going to TAKE?!?"

[Lx]

Destroy the world, the Earth? You’re saying we all have enough Nukes to actually turn the planet into dust? I doubt it. Kill off all life, I could see that happening but I’m an optimist so I’m pretty sure the Earth will still be here.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Radiation?

[True Republican Patriot]

It shouldn’t be too much to ask! but the way Washington has corrupted and decayed Our America, I doubt You will get a Peep out of this decrepit Government......:-(!!

[unixfox]

Ok, so they *say* they dismantled the last bomb. But what about the MISSILES?

Tell me we haven't lost our freakin collective minds.

[RayChuang88]

The B53 was obsolete because only one bomber--the B-52H--could carry this bomb. Even the B-1B was never cleared to carry this bomb, because its non-aerodynamic bomb casing and sheer size made it impractical to carry in the front bomb bay of the B-1B even if the partition between the front two bomb bays were removed.

It was more practical to carry a larger number of lower-yield 200 to 400 kT B61 bombs, especially with the higher bombing accuracy offered by low altitude drops and the ability to carry more bombs to attack multiple targets.

[RayChuang88]

If I remember correctly, the Russian R-36 missile (known for many years as the SS-18 Satan by NATO) carried a single 25 MT nuclear warhead for two reasons: 1) attack large population centers such as New York City and Chicago and 2) attack military installations like the NORAD command center at Cheyenne Mountain and SAC command center at Offutt AFB near Omaha, NE.

[Stonewall Jackson]

With the last of the Peacekeeper's being retired in 2005, the US ICBM arsenal currently consists of 450 Minuteman III's, which are being retrofitted with the W87 warhead, which will have a yield of 475Kt.

The missiles are evenly divided between the 90th (F.E.Warren AFB, WY), the 91st (Minot AFB, ND), and the 341st (Malmstrom AFB, MT) Missile Wings, which are under the 20th Air Force.

[Spktyr]

It’s in the middle of Texas, surrounded by men with gatling guns in a secured and mined facility with a fail-deadly.

On top of that, it’s surrounded by thousands and thousands of armed Texans who have nothing better to do than shoot terrorists. Probably not going to happen, dude.

[Yosemitest]

I like the NEUTRON BOMB, although its never been used in war.
I asked the question to get the focus on

why Obama would release information on where the B53 was, before it was dismantled.

If you want to think about it, Obama with guns to terrorist (Fast and Furious) publicizing where the weapon was, the theft of the weapon would have been a real problem.
Now my military experience intuition tells me that the core had already been removed before it was shipped, but that's a guess.
It might NOT have been removed.

Anyway, the immediate death range of that weapon is roughly a 20 miles radius, or 40 miles across.
A 40 mile diameter bite out of any city, not counting for radioactive fallout for years ... is unthinkable.
But Obama didn't even consider it.

As far as the use of other weapons, well let's just say that over 20 years as a control tower watch supervisor and primary crew chief of air traffic control, I'm familiar with technology up to 2001.
Tactical nukes are great, but Laser and Directed-Energy Weapons are better.
In 1994, I watched two aircraft at opposite ends of the runway fire green particle weapons of low density at targets set up off the edge of the runway.
Viewing with the naked eye, you could see the light emitted from the weapon pod, but viewed through binoculars, the light wasn't visible.
They were strong enough to scramble a man's guts, and slowly kill him.
And the aircraft were small weight class cat III.

[SLB]

Fiddler’s Green is still there. Huge change with the Armor Center now at Ft Benning. I live about 15 miles from the closest tank range. Sure miss my windows rattling.

[LibLieSlayer]

BTW... look up obama’s campaign promises on our Nuke arsenal... he promised to bring it to ZERO.

LLS

[Cronos]

I agree. Let’s spend money on more precision bombs — whether nuclear tipped or not.

[Bigg Red]

Good points all.