Photo from National Nuclear Security Administration fact sheet on the W76-1 Life Extension Program.
Note This story was updated at 4:40 p.m. Jan. 26.
After two decades, work was completed in December on a program to extend the life of the W76 nuclear warhead, the Y-12 National Security Complex said on Monday.
That ended a decade of work to extend the service life of the original warhead design by 40 years, Y-12 said.
“This warhead plays a vital role in maintaining the nation’s credible nuclear deterrent,” said Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, which manages and operates Y-12 for the National Nuclear Security Administration.
The Life Extension Program, or LEP, is for the W76-1 warhead. The W76-1 is a refurbished W76-0 warhead. The W76-0 warhead is a submarine-launched ballistic missile system that was first introduced into the stockpile for the U.S. Navy in 1978. The warhead is deployed with Trident II D5 missiles on Ohio-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines. [Read more…]
