"Powerlessness" of the US nuclear industry
In the past few years, much has been written on the Runet about the degradation of the defense segment of the American nuclear complex and the inability of the United States to develop and produce a new nuclear weapon... Is this really so - we will try to figure it out.
Cuts in US and Russian nuclear arsenals since the end of the Cold War
In the second half of the 1980s, the process of reducing tension in relations between the USSR and the United States began, which, in turn, made it possible to start a dialogue on nuclear disarmament. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the strategic offensive arms agreements actively reduced the number of nuclear warheads in the arsenals of the United States and Russia.
As follows from the graph above, the United States began to reduce the number of deployed nuclear weapons in the second half of the 1970s, while their number remained almost unchanged in the 1980s.
In addition, due to the increase in the accuracy of the warheads of American ICBMs and SLBMs, the power of the warheads placed on them decreased, at the same time, free-fall thermonuclear bombs of the megaton class remained in service with the strategic bombers of the US Air Force.
In the Soviet Union, the explosive growth in the number of nuclear charges continued until 1986, and after the conclusion of the treaty on the elimination of MRBMs, their reduction began. As of 1991, the USSR had a significant superiority over the United States in tactical nuclear weapons (this situation still persists), and the Soviet nuclear arsenal had about 8 more charges than the American. In addition, Soviet ICBMs were mainly equipped with more powerful warheads, which was supposed to compensate for more than American KVO missiles.
Ten years after the collapse of the USSR, the number of nuclear charges in the strategic nuclear forces of the United States and Russia has reached approximately the same level. This not only contributed to the security of the parties, but also proved to be economically beneficial.
The United States saved many billions of dollars by disposing of obsolete strategic carriers and warheads of the Cold War times, abandoning the production of new types of weapons and nuclear charges for them.
Russia, having entered the era of "economic reforms", was categorically unable to continue the arms race, and the available funding was barely enough to maintain the number of ICBMs and sea-launched ballistic missiles at the minimum required level.
On the whole, for our country, agreements with the United States on the reduction of strategic nuclear arsenals were a boon. Regardless of the obligations assumed, we would still have to withdraw from combat duty the ballistic and cruise missiles that have exhausted their resource.
Impact of international detente on US nuclear forces and the nuclear industry
After the end of the Cold War and reducing the risk of a global conflict to a minimum, the US nuclear arsenal and delivery vehicles began to dramatically decline.
Along with frankly outdated missiles, bombs and shells, such as, for example, the MIM-14 Genie unguided air-to-air missile and the B57 depth charge, relatively new ones were removed from service. aviation long-range cruise missiles AGM-129 ACM (entered service in 1993) and solid-propellant ICBMs LGM-118 Peacekeeper (entered service in 1986).
At the same time, the W87 warheads, dismantled from the decommissioned ICBMs, were used to replace the old warheads with the LGM-30G Minuteman-III ICBMs, and the LGM-118 Peacekeeper rockets themselves were converted into launch vehicles and used to launch spacecraft.
Thermonuclear bomb В53
There are known cases when "special ammunition" officially decommissioned was stored for more than 10 years. Thus, 50 B53 thermonuclear bombs with a capacity of 9 Mt each were withdrawn from combat service in 1997. However, their disassembly began only in 2010.
According to data released by the US Department of State, more than 30% of American tactical nuclear weapons were eliminated from September 1991, 30 to September 2020, 90, and until recently, only aviation thermonuclear bombs were available for solving tactical tasks.
Dynamics of changes in the number of American nuclear warheads from 1945 to 2020
From 1994 to 2020, the United States dismantled 11 warheads. Since September 683, 30, the United States has dismantled 2017 nuclear warheads. Approximately 711 more charges are currently decommissioned and awaiting dismantling.
The reduction of American strategic and tactical nuclear weapons led to the curtailment of a number of large-scale projects and for some time to a halt in the production of warheads.
Thus, the United States reduced its stockpiles of nuclear weapons by almost 90% from the maximum value (31) at the end of 255 and by about 1967% of the available arsenal (83) when the Berlin Wall fell at the end of 22.
Such a large-scale reduction of American nuclear weapons became possible after the collapse of the USSR and the liquidation of the Warsaw Pact Organization, which was the main deterrent force of the United States and NATO. Subsequently, the US high command moved to the concept of "dominant power", according to which the American armed forces should be able to defeat any enemy and solve most of the tasks with conventional weapons.
However, despite huge defense spending, the United States has never been able to achieve unconditional military superiority.
The degradation of the Russian army was largely stopped, and our country is quite capable of inflicting unacceptable damage to any enemy in a global nuclear conflict. The growing economic and military power of China leaves no doubt that in the future, Washington will have to confront Beijing's claims to world leadership.
New challenges caused the American leadership to reconsider its views on nuclear weapons and, along with the modernization of the existing strategic triad, to start creating new ballistic missile submarines, strategic bombers and more advanced thermonuclear charges.
American laboratories, enterprises and testing centers involved in the creation, modernization and disposal of nuclear weapons
Nuclear weapons are made up of several key elements: warheads, delivery systems, maintenance and storage infrastructure. To create and maintain a nuclear potential in a working condition, an appropriate scientific and technical base is required, which develops, manufactures, tests and maintains nuclear weapons.
The nuclear industry employs scientists, engineers, technicians and operators involved in the design and testing of individual elements of nuclear weapons, as well as their assembly, maintenance and disposal.
The oldest organization in the American nuclear industry is the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico (abbreviated as Los Alamos or LANL), established in 1943 to implement the Manhattan Project. Along with the Livermore National Laboratory, all types of nuclear weapons adopted by the United States were developed here. LANL currently employs over 12 people.
Los Alamos National Laboratory
At present, research on improving nuclear charges carried out at Los Alamos is primarily associated with computer modeling, which makes it possible to abandon full-scale tests. Also in the laboratory, work is underway to extend the life of the existing warheads.
Google Earth Satellite Image: Los Alamos National Laboratory
A test complex with buried structures is located 5 km south of the LANL administrative and scientific center in a mountainous area.
Satellite image of Google Earth: entrance to the underground test complex of Los Alamos National Laboratory
The test complex includes free particle accelerators, blast chambers reinforced and isolated from the external environment, and a two-axis radiographic hydrodynamic unit. This equipment makes it possible to carry out a comprehensive simulation of nuclear tests without a real explosion with a full fission reaction.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility located in the eastern part of Livermore, California. The number of the laboratory staff reaches 8 people. Some of the most powerful American supercomputers operate here.
LLNL is the leading research and development institution in science and technology for national security, according to the US Department of Energy. The laboratory is responsible for the creation of new nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, the development of technology and measures to ensure the safety, security and reliability of national nuclear weapons.
In 2008, the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) presented a plan for the development of a national nuclear weapons complex. According to this plan, LLNL is to become a center of excellence in nuclear research and design. Also lead projects in the development of weapons based on new physical principles and high energy physics.
Due to the fact that Lawrence's laboratory is located in a populated area, the main testing facilities and most of the radioactive materials have been taken out of the city limits.
Satellite image of Google Earth: research facilities at the site "Plot 300"
A 300 km² experimental site known as Site 2,8 with various research facilities and underground storage facilities is located 24 km southwest of Livermore.
Sandia National Laboratory (SNL), along with the above scientific organizations, is one of the main centers where the US nuclear arsenal is being improved.
The laboratory, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was established in July 1945 and was used to assemble the first atomic bombs. In the future, non-nuclear high-tech components of nuclear explosive devices were designed, manufactured and tested here.
Currently, 11 SNL employees are tasked with maintaining the reliability of the electronic and electromechanical systems of nuclear weapons. The laboratory also conducts research in the field of nuclear weapons control, and develops methods for the disposal of hazardous radioactive waste from the American nuclear weapons program. Other tasks include research in energy and environmental programs.
To solve these problems, the ASCI Red Storm supercomputer and the world's largest X-ray generator Z Machine, designed to test materials under extreme temperature and pressure conditions, are used.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee, employing 5 people, is the leading US research center for research in radiation-resistant materials, plasma physics, high-temperature superconductivity and compact nuclear reactors. On the territory of the laboratory complex, the production of various radioactive isotopes used for scientific and medical purposes is carried out, as well as programs for nuclear safety and tracking of fissile materials are being implemented.
Google Earth Satellite Image: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The laboratory was built as part of the Manhattan Project. In February 1943, the Kh-10 graphite reactor, intended for the production of Plutonium-239, began to operate here.
Currently, the most significant objects at ORNL are the supercomputers ORACLE, Summit and Jaguar, as well as three powerful laboratory neutron sources.
Reactor block HFIR
The HFIR neutron and gamma radiation source is an 85 MW water-cooled beryllium reflector nuclear reactor located 1 km south of the main Oak Ridge laboratory building.
This reactor operates on highly enriched Uranium-235, suitable for creating a nuclear explosive device. In the future, in order to reduce risks, the research reactor is planned to be converted to nuclear fuel with a Uranium-235 content of no more than 5%.
Google Earth Satellite Image: HFIR Reactor
The HFIR reactor was commissioned in 1965 and, after modernization in 2007, is the world's most powerful continuous source of neutron radiation.
In the near future, in parallel with the replacement of nuclear fuel, another package of improvements should be implemented. It is planned to operate the reactor until 2060.
Free particle accelerators ORELA and SNS generate neutrons in a pulsed mode. The SNS installation with a capacity of 1 MW was launched in 2006, in 2022 it should reach a capacity of 3 Mt.
On the territory of the Oak Ridge laboratory is the Y-12 National Security Complex, where the process of enrichment of Uranium-235 was launched during the Second World War.
After the end of the Cold War, the main tasks of the Y-12 complex were to extend the life of nuclear weapons, participate in the nuclear non-proliferation program, ensure the operability of offshore nuclear reactors, and provide expert services to other federal agencies. Specialists of the Y-12 complex are also responsible for the maintenance and production of all uranium parts and "secondary" mechanisms of nuclear weapons.
In addition, the main reserves of highly enriched uranium are concentrated on the territory of Y-12. $ 6,5 billion has been allocated for the modernization and development of the complex. Currently, the number of Y-12 employees is 3 people.
The Nevada Nuclear Test Site (NTS), designed for full-scale testing of nuclear charges, was founded in January 1951. It is located on an area of 3 km² (mostly desert and mountainous).
From 1951 to 1992, 928 nuclear tests were carried out in Nevada, of which 921 were underground. Currently, a huge area is covered with craters formed as a result of soil subsidence caused by underground explosions.
Satellite image of Google Earth: craters at the test site "Zone-3", formed after underground nuclear explosions
Although nearly 30 years have passed since the last nuclear test, the Nevada nuclear test site continues to function. During the detonation of powerful charges of conventional explosives, various components of the nuclear warheads in service are tested here. Until 2012, 27 tests of real nuclear devices were carried out at the test site, without reaching a critical mass.
Exercises to eliminate nuclear accidents and counter nuclear terrorism are regularly held in Nevada. Several research laboratories monitor the effects of radiation on living organisms and monitor groundwater pollution.
In the southeastern part of the landfill, on the territory of the "Zone-5" test site, located on the surface of a dried salt lake, there is an enterprise for the processing of radioactive waste. Vitrified waste is deposited in mines cut in the mountains. The radioactive liquid is pumped into cavities formed after underground explosions at a depth of up to 1,5 km.
Radioisotope thermoelectric power generators intended for disposal at the Nevada landfill
In some cases, products containing radioactive substances are left for storage in mines, the dismantling of which is associated with great risk or is excessively expensive.
In connection with the large volume of radioactive materials accumulated as a result of the activities of nuclear enterprises, the issue of their disposal and safe disposal is acute in the United States. A significant portion of the radioactive waste is planned to be disposed of at a facility located 8 km east of Eunice, New Mexico. This area, known as the "nuclear alley", is also home to a uranium enrichment facility.
Satellite image of Google Earth: a radioactive waste processing and disposal plant near the city of Eunice, New Mexico
Geological surveys carried out in the area in the 1970s indicate that stable salt deposits with an age of about 900 million years are located at a depth of up to 250 m.
The absence of tectonic activity makes it possible to safely store spent radioactive materials for 10 years. For this, at a depth of more than 000 m, artificial cavities with a volume of about 600 m³ are created, into which a radioactive solution is pumped, after which the adits collapse, and salt deposits naturally seal the storage.
The first shipment of waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory arrived for processing and disposal in March 1999. Over the 10 years that have passed since the start of work, 76 m³ of radioactive substances have been neutralized. It is assumed that the plant will receive waste for 561–30 years. As of 35, about $ 2019 billion was spent on these purposes.The total cost of the program is estimated at $ 1,7 billion.
The site of the uranium enrichment plant, known as the National Enrichment Plant (NEF), is located in the immediate vicinity of the radioactive waste reprocessing and disposal plant, which creates a closed technological cycle and ensures radiation safety.
Google Earth Satellite Image: National Concentration Plant near Eunice, New Mexico
According to information released by the US Department of Energy, the improved technology of gas centrifuges, launched in 2012, in the future will meet up to 50% of the demand for enriched uranium.
Since 1954, uranium has been enriched in gas centrifuges at the Portsmouth Gas Diffusion Plant. This plant is so named because it is located 22 kilometers south of Portsmouth, Ohio. In the past, the plant, along with facilities in Oak Ridge (Tennessee) and Paducah (in Kentucky), was one of the three major American producers of enriched Uranium-235 and the processing of Uranium-238.
Satellite image of Google Earth: Portsma gaseous diffusion plant
In 2024, it is planned to stop the production cycle and clean up the territory. In the future, a new generation of nuclear power plants can be built on this site.
The Kansas City plant, directly overseen by the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA), produces 85% of the mechanical, electronic, and electrical components used in American nuclear warheads.
The plant also manufactures lasers, microwave generators and miniature electromechanical drives for military use. Services for metallurgical analysis, chemical sample analysis, non-destructive testing, computer modeling, and technical certification are provided.
South Carolina, 40 kilometers southeast of Augusta, is home to a nuclear complex known as the Savannah River Zone (SRS). The complex, operated by the US Department of Energy, is located on an area of 800 km². About 10 people are employed here.
The Savannah River Zone houses several operating and decommissioned nuclear reactors, burial sites and a radioactive waste processing facility, as well as research laboratories.
In the past, weapons-grade plutonium was manufactured here at the L reactor facility, but at present there is no reliable information whether work in this direction is being carried out now. It is known that in this area it was planned to build an enterprise for the processing of weapons-grade plutonium into nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants.
Satellite image of Google Earth: reactor plant "L"
SRS operates the only US radiochemical plant for the extraction of tritium, which is necessary to maintain nuclear charges and produce glow-in-the-dark devices.
The Pantex Plant, Texas, is located 27 kilometers northeast of Amorillo. Manufacturing workshops, auxiliary infrastructure, bunkers and warehouses for nuclear warheads and nuclear weapons elements cover an area of 65 km².
The plant is operated by a panel of representatives from the Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratory and the private company Consolidated Nuclear Safety. The company employs approximately 3 people and has an annual budget of $ 300 million.
Google Earth Satellite Image: Pantex Plant
The plant began work in the early 1970s, and in the second half of the 1980s, after the closure of the Rocky Flats plant in Colorado, it became the only enterprise for the assembly, technical support, disassembly and disposal of decommissioned nuclear weapons.
Satellite image of Google Earth: underground nuclear storage in the vicinity of "Pantex Plant"
According to expert estimates, there are approximately 1 charges in storage, as well as a significant amount of material that can be processed to create nuclear weapons. If necessary, underground storage facilities can accommodate more than 800 warheads.
Satellite image of Google Earth: transport near one of the nuclear cellars in the vicinity of "Pantex Plant"
The available production facilities and stocks of components currently allow the collection of more than a hundred nuclear weapons per year. In case of urgent need, the assembly volumes can be increased many times over several years.
Preparing the delivery of a nuclear warhead by a military transport aircraft
Amorillo airbase is located 16 km south-west of the Pantex Plant plant, with a concrete runway 4 km long, which makes it possible to quickly deliver nuclear warheads to any part of the C-17 Globemaster III, C-130 Hercules and C-5 Galaxy aircraft The United States and foreign military bases.
Potential and Prospects of the American Defense Nuclear Complex
In the Russian media, including in Voennoye Obozreniye, articles regularly appear with headlines such as “Rotted US Nuclear Shield”, which form in readers an erroneous idea of the capabilities of the American military-industrial complex to maintain and create new types of nuclear weapons.
Underestimating the American nuclear potential is dangerous because some of the Russian citizens may have an opinion about the toothlessness of the US strategic nuclear forces, and about our country's ability to easily win a global conflict.
In fairness, it should be said that, until recently, the enterprises of the American defense nuclear complex did not produce new warheads.
In addition to fundamental research, nuclear laboratories were engaged in practical work in the field of increasing the reliability and safety of the existing nuclear arsenal, as well as extending the service life of the charges in service. Also among the priorities were: diagnostics, safe disassembly and disposal of decommissioned warheads, as well as disposal of radioactive waste.
This approach was fully consistent with the situation that had developed after the implementation of nuclear warhead reductions under the strategic offensive arms treaties, and the available nuclear potential was sufficient to maintain the necessary parity of the United States.
At the same time, the United States has maintained the infrastructure needed to quickly rebuild the assembly of new nuclear weapons.
Each of the three nuclear weapons laboratories (Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Sandian National Laboratory) each annually prepares reports that provide conclusions regarding the safety, security and reliability of the national nuclear industry and the state of the nuclear arsenal. A similar report is also provided by the headquarters of the Strategic Command.
Based on these secret reports, the President and Congress make decisions on certain measures in the field of nuclear security.
The aggravation of the international situation has led to the restoration of the assembly of new nuclear charges in the United States and an increase in funding for the American nuclear industry.
So, in fiscal 2021, the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) received $ 19,7 billion, which is $ 3 billion more than it was allocated in fiscal 2020.
These funds went to the restoration of plutonium production and the modernization of existing nuclear charges.
The US Department of Nuclear Energy is currently implementing a plan to reform and develop the infrastructure of the nuclear weapons complex required for the production of strategic materials and components for nuclear weapons.
As part of the planned measures, stable production of plutonium blocks should be restored. If in 2019 four new plutonium blocks were assembled at the production site of the Los Alamos laboratory, then in 2024 there should already be 10 of them, and as of 2030 it is possible to assemble at least 80 such products annually.
Large-scale financing is planned for the production of lithium-containing compounds, the provision of the necessary reactor capacities for the production of tritium and an increase in the volume of uranium enrichment. In parallel, a start was made for a program for the production of new radiation-resistant microelectronic systems.
Staff training has not been forgotten either. For young scientists and engineers who decide to find a job in the American nuclear industry, very attractive conditions are created, which in the future should guarantee the turnover of personnel, the continuation of research and development.
The measures taken, if necessary, should ensure the possibility of large-scale production of new generation thermonuclear warheads.
It is stated that this task is not paramount, and at the moment the US defense needs are fully met by warheads that have passed through the service life extension program, as well as new SLBM warheads and controlled-yield thermonuclear bombs based on existing products.
The next publication will consider the current and advanced models of American nuclear weapons, as well as their storage locations and delivery vehicles.
To be continued ...
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