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A Nuclear Weapon’s Lifecycle

Watch this video to learn about the lifecycle of a nuclear weapon — from phase one (research and concept) to phase seven, when the weapon is dismantled and the nuclear and non-nuclear components are either disposed of or stored for reuse — as well as Sandia’s role in the process.

Topics:
Defense

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    Transcript

    00:00:02 since 1949 the primary mission of Sandia National Laboratories has been to ensure that the nuclear weapons arsenal of the United States is safe secure reliable and effective and can fully support the nation's nuclear deterrence policy CIA is the lead systems integrator for nuclear weapons and has design responsibility for non-nuclear components CIA is also the production

    00:00:25 Agency for key components such as Neutron generators microelectronics and batteries as the lead systems integrator Sandia Works across the eight Labs plants and sites of the nuclear security Enterprise along with the national nuclear Security Administration to deliver weapons and account for the capabilities and capacity of the entire nsse part of our role as systems

    00:00:47 integrator is managing the subsystem interfaces ensuring that all elements of a system meet their allocated requirements and that the entire weapon Works seamlessly as designed cindia also works closely with the Department of Defense the United States Air Force and the United States Navy as well as the dod Prime contractors who provide the delivery

    00:01:08 platforms to ensure compliance with all platform interfaces and ultimately performance of the entire system nuclear weapons are developed produced and maintained in the stockpile and then retired and dismantled this sequence of events is known as the nuclear weapons life cycle phase one of the life cycle is research and concept during which

    00:01:30 scientific and Engineering research is conducted to explore broad option space to plan for and design a new nuclear weapon in Phase 2 the new weapon concept from phase one is evaluated for design feasibility and resource requirements Warhead design and prototype test and evaluation happens in phase three phase four production engineering

    00:01:54 is the transition of the developmental Warhead design into manufacturing processes first production unit or FPU is an important milestone in Phase 5 in this phase the production line is established from first production through last production unit and then through full rate production each step is made in collaboration with Partners in the

    00:02:13 nuclear security Enterprise phase six is where the newly produced units are placed into the US nuclear weapons stockpile which is an important tool for nuclear deterrence nuclear weapons in the stockpile are designed to survive extremely complex and often harsh environments they may dormant for decades and yet they must be immediately available during high alert

    00:02:35 levels lastly when a weapon is determined to be no longer useful in the stockpile it is retired during phase seven of the life cycle the weapon is dismantled and the nuclear and non-nuclear components are either disposed of or stored for reuse Sandia is proud to play a vital role in the nation's National defense strategy by helping create an effective

    00:02:56 and sustainable nuclear deterrent both now and into the future