US selects new nuclear warhead design

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2007

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States said Friday it had selected the design of next-generation nuclear warheads, a step toward the construction of new bombs for the sea-based nuclear arsenal to replace aging Cold War-era stock.

The government chose a design by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California over a competing design by the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico for the project, the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said in a statement.

The program, named Reliable Replacement Warhead, now will enter a new development phase and be subjected to a cost estimation. After congressional approval, the new warheads were to be produced under the direction of the US Navy.

The design chosen has the advantage...