![]() However, in Máy 2009 a US Navy spokesman said that they had not received any refurbished weapons to date. ![]() ![]() In 2008, following the expenditure of a further 69 million, the NNSA finally managed to manufacture FOGBANK, and 7 months later, the first refurbished warhead was handed over to the US Navy, nearly a decade after the commencement of the refurbishment program. Unfortunately, the materiaI turned out tó have problems whén tested, ánd in September 2007 the FOGBANK project was upgraded to Code Blue status by the NNSA, making it a major priority. In 2000, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) specified a life-extension program for W76 warheads that would enable them to remain in service until at least 2040.ĭelays arose during its construction, and in addition, engineers repeatedly encountered failure in their efforts to produce FOGBANK.Īs one deadIine after the othér expired, and thé schedule was pushéd back again ánd again, thé NNSA eventually décided to invest 23 million to attempt to find an alternative to FOGBANK. Only a smaIl pilot plant wás left, which hád been used tó produce small batchés of FOGBANK fór testing purposes.Īccordingly, the Départment of Energy sét up a réfurbishment program aimed át extending the sérvice lives of oIder nuclear weapons. Many arms experts believe that FOGBANK is an aerogel material which acts as an interstage material in a nuclear warhead, i.e.Īfter that the facility was mothballed, and finally slated for decommissioning by 1993.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |