Posted on 10/12/2022 2:56:18 PM PDT by RoosterRedux
Our thousands of nuclear weapons were designed, tested and built in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s to win the Cold War. None of these weapons has been tested since 1992, over a quarter century ago. Nor has a single new weapon been designed, tested or built during this same period.
The tens of thousands of active nuclear weapons scientists in our three nuclear weapons labs have never designed, tested and built a nuclear weapon.
Nuclear weapons are the most complex systems ever created by man. The detonation of a nuclear weapon is so complex that there are many activities and processes occurring in the initial millionth of a second which we do not understand. The heart of a nuclear weapon is made of plutonium, and many aspects of its aging process are still unknown to us.
During our half-century of active nuclear weapons testing (1945-92), we conducted more than a thousand tests. A great many of these were failures. I doubt that any test was ever conducted in which unexplainable events did not occur. Our best and most experienced weapons designers were noted for telling of many cases where the designs in which they had the most confidence were the ones in which the most complete failures occurred.
All of our nuclear weapons were designed and built when the nuclear weapons age was in its adolescence. Decades of recently-gained knowledge was not included. Also, these weapons were all built under wartime conditions, when speed was essential, shortcuts were taken and there was no time for accurate record-keeping. For example, as designers made last-minute design changes in the weapon under test, these changes may not have been recorded in the weapon’s final “as-built” documentation.
All these weapons were designed to have an estimated 20-year lifetime.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
I think about this often. How do we know our crap even works anymore?
Thank you, Bill Klinton!
Hey, let’s outsource it to China!
“None of these weapons has been tested since 1992”
The year Clinton took was elected. Then 8 Bush years then 8 Obongo years. Yes then Trump but how much can one guy do when every day they are trying to destroy you.
What movie is that?
I had the same question about Russian nukes. Their military equipment is looking pretty bad these days. What is the likelihood that their nukes don’t work either.
Two words:
Fogbank.
OK, that’s one word, so sue me...
Perhaps this article is true, but what other country with Nukes is actually testing them.
North Korea, perhaps I’ve read they are planning a test in the near future.
I have not heard a word about China, Russia, UK, France or any other major country designing, building and testing new nuclear weapons, so it’s just not the USA.
(Sarc) well, the “good news” is that Russia’s won’t work either due to same issues and they have not even invested the trillion dollars on simulation validation. Plus, they were not as elegant designs or as precise in manufacturing to begin with.
Then of course, there is China..
I have to take this with a grain of salt.
We have cruise missiles that are nuclear capable. I would
have a hard time believing we don’t have warheads for them.
And that being said, those had to have been created decades
after the weapons they discuss in this article.
Then there’s the nuclear weapons that our subs carry. Those
would likely be younger than the ones they talk about here.
I have a very hard time thinking we don’t have ongoing
programs developing new weapons.
So I think they do touch on an issue that needs review
and being addressed with upgrading. I am not convinced
we are as poorly prepared as this implicates.
Sectors of our weapons, may be. Still...
Planet of the Apes. Not sure which one.
Beneath the Planet of the Apes. Charlton Heston.
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
One of the Planet of the Apes movies
“Nuclear weapons are the most complex systems ever created by man.”
This is a misunderstanding. Creating weapons grade uranium and plutonium are the hard parts.
Once you have those getting them to go boom is unfortunately fairly simple.
thanks!
Uh oh
They work.
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