Nuclear Weapons - Long Post

[CastleRubric]

hey y’all - i posted this info in another thread and thought it could be interesting to others who gravitate towards the topic

Nothing here is Classified or otherwise compartmentalized and/or proprietary - if this information is externally scanned and logged...please note that the data below is more readily accessible than something gleaned fm a FOIA request
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THIS post is for anyone who’s more deeply interested in learning more about nuclear weapons,. the suggestions below can help you gain a better understanding of what’s in our inventory (lesser extent - theirs) and the doctrine / production and oversight aspects of those weapons


For what it’s worth i have spent some time in that realm and you’re right - they’ve outlined their position in that topic before entering Ukraine (will not employ first strike rule but WILL use unconventional weapons if NATO or US forces intervene...:we’ve stated that a unilateral first strike IS in the table of the CINC and his delegated “tiger team “ - feels it’s necessary)

These are all Unclassified sources - i’ve either had to professionally leverage or work directly for / with most of the entities and resources noted below (and then some) - hope it helps someone

Point is - if you scan and systematically read through publically available info stemming for. these places — you will see some of our/their nuclear weapon decision making or weapon specific capabilities and more

1. The Open Skies Treaty ,
2. START ,
3. New START
4. NATO has a military specification on nuclear weapons - i believe there’s an UNCLASS version at “AllSpec.con”
5. DOE - Dept of Energy has a cabinet level authority over US nuclear weapons production -
6. Oak Ridge TNs “Y12 Plant” - can learn about some aspects of material development etc
7. historical precedent can be gleaned fm reading the old treaties like SALT I & II or the defunct missile defense treaty we had with Europe (addressed outdated ground launched , Army managed Lance and Pershing missiles and how we shared them w/NATO allies)

and in some cases industrial publications **

**Russian rocket motors are sometimes used [this MAY have recently changed] by the US for commercial space launch - competitors to those products include a US Corp called Aerojet .

Boeing - major integrator and provider as the USGs prime contractor for Minutemen IIIs (etc)

Something happened about 5-7 years ago that resulted in both Raytheon & Lockheed joining Boeing as sources who MAY reference this field

...regulatory oversight for missile defense activities stems from our MDA org in AL - (Missile Defense Agency) ...they are ball busters — lots of Navy info here

Service specific information (which sometimes includes UNCLASS info about Russian weapon / product analogs against our inventory - may occasionally be found in Air Force or Navy papers / articles coming from Stars & Stripea, Cheyenne Mountain/NORAD or even local news outlets adjacent to certain military bases


Finally - international orgs like IAEA (Intl Atomic Energy Agency) or the UNs disarmament team may run articles that reference national nuclear posture or doctrine

 

[J_Dee]

 

[CastleRubric]

An Air Force Minuteman III ICBM : (capabilities recently downgraded as a result of the Obama era “New START” agreements which removed ALL MIRV capabilities fm the weapon...they are now equipped w/ a single warhead as opposed to 6-8 independently targetable ones

Blast yield is roughly 170 to 300+’Kiloton range and can be altered depending on what you’re hitting (hiroshima was about 12 kt / nagasaki about 15 kt)

Speed of travel is approx 15,000 MPH (about MACH 24)

First launched in the 1960s to ultimately replace the USAF’s Atlas and Titan Missile Pgms

 

[CastleRubric]

Air Force B83 Nuclear Bomb :

Fielded in the early 80s - they SAY the official maximum blast yield is about 1.5 MT

It was the first nuke in a bomb casing that was able to avoid accidental detonation

Typically intended for B2 or B52 use - it can also be dropped by a F15 ....that’s hauling ass

 

[CastleRubric]

Also from the 80s - our ALCM (air launched cruise missile) has always been a B52 payload option when they are required to deliver a nuclear strike — but can’t afford to fly near modern air defenses that almost certainly knock the BUFFs out of the sky

A B52 can launch roughly 15-20 of these on a single mission (captive carry under both wings plus a gatling gun style launcher in the bomb bay) - depending on which version we’re using the range is anywhere between approximately 600 to 1500 miles

The primary warhead carries a 200kt blast yield
There’s another variant that includes a bunker busting 500+ Kg penetration explosive that opens up the target for the secondary nuclear blast

Due to the older design and airframe - the ALCM is subsonic in speed

The overall design and control /actuation is NOT that different from what we gleaned from the Nazis flying bomb / early cruise missiles of the 1940s

thank you, project Paperclip

 

[WildcatfaninOhio]

An Air Force Minuteman III ICBM : (capabilities recently downgraded as a result of the Obama era “New START” agreements which removed ALL MIRV capabilities fm the weapon...they are now equipped w/ a single warhead as opposed to 6-8 independently targetable ones

Blast yield is roughly 170 to 300+’Kiloton range and can be altered depending on what you’re hitting (hiroshima was about 12 kt / nagasaki about 15 kt)

Speed of travel is approx 15,000 MPH (about MACH 24)

First launched in the 1960s to ultimately replace the USAF’s Atlas and Titan Missile Pgms

I worked on these birds when I was part of the 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron, Strategic Air Command, at FE Warren AFB, Cheyenne WY, back in the day. At the time they each had 3 reentry vehicles and as many as 10 decoy chaff clouds. 200 missile silos and 20 command capsules spread out across vast areas of Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska all supported from that base.

 

[CastleRubric]

I worked on these birds when I was part of the 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron, Strategic Air Command, at FE Warren AFB, Cheyenne WY, back in the day. At the time they each had 3 reentry vehicles and as many as 10 decoy chaff clouds. 200 missile silos and 20 command capsules spread out across vast areas of Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska all supported from that base.

Part of a 6 man crew ? that about right ?

have a buddy that became an Air Force weapons officer and he did some of the system inspections you prob dealt with


The (much more powerful) Peacekeeper missile wasn’t included here but it was on active duty when i joined - we launched some as tests fm Vandenberg AFB around 1999-2002 ....somewhere in that period they were taken offline completely

 

[WildcatfaninOhio]

Part of a 6 man crew ? that about right ?

have a buddy that became an Air Force weapons officer and he did some of the system inspections you prob dealt with


The (much more powerful) Peacekeeper missile wasn’t included here but it was on active duty when i joined - we launched some as tests fm Vandenberg AFB around 1999-2002 ....somewhere in that period they were taken offline completely

2 man maintenance crew. When doing work at a missile site we always had one security guard armed with an M16 with us. He stayed topside. When working at a command capsule there were always as many as 6 guards in the soft support building above, and of course 2 armed officers inside the capsule.

Peacekeeper was still in planning stages when I was in.

 

[bertfan31]

The (much more powerful) Peacekeeper missile wasn’t included here but it was on active duty when i joined - we launched some as tests fm Vandenberg AFB around 1999-2002 ....somewhere in that period they were taken offline completely

I worked at Diablo Canyon from 82-84 and we saw cruise missiles fly by several times from Vandenberg. I don't know why, maybe blame it on Humboldt Co, but I never saw a launch from VAFB.

 

[berniecarbo]

When I was stationed in Turkey, there were several air bases with F100's armed with nukes that were ready to be airborne toward Russia within two minutes of the command. There were always a large number of planes that could be armed with nukes and airborne within two hours. No one was allowed inside the hangar by themself, not even the pilot. Big shots often came around on tours (and went boar hunting later). One day a group was touring the area where the armed planes were. One of the generals was rubber necking and accidentally put his foot on the red line in front of a hangar. The sentry in front of that hangar had played fullback f or the University of Missouri. We called him Grog as he wasn't the smartest guy around. Grog picked the general up by the seat of his pants and his collar and ran him to a pickup truck, threw him in the bed of the truck, climbed up with his knee in the generals back and an M1 pointed at the back of his head. They rode all the way to po?lice headquarters that way. We thought Grog was in trouble, but he got an atta boy for doing a good job.

 

[Joey Rupption]

A Wyern thread about nukes and no speculation about UFO’s disabling warheads throughout history, SMDH.

 

[jameslee32]

It takes a madman.