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The W91 was an American
University of California 1989 nuclear weapons labs status report
at the Nuclear Weapon Archive a
nuclearweaponarchive.org
{{United States nuclear devices Nuclear warheads of the United States Abandoned military projects of the United States
The W91 was an American thermonuclear warhead
A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...
intended for use on the SRAM-T
The AGM-131 SRAM II ("Short-Range Attack Missile") was a nuclear air-to-surface missile intended as a replacement for the AGM-69 SRAM. The solid-fueled missile was to be dropped from a B-1B Lancer, carry the W89 warhead and have a range of 400&n ...
variant of the AGM-131 SRAM II
The AGM-131 SRAM II ("Short-Range Attack Missile") was a nuclear air-to-surface missile intended as a replacement for the AGM-69 SRAM. The solid-fueled missile was to be dropped from a B-1B Lancer, carry the W89 warhead and have a range of 400&n ...
air to ground missile.
What was to become the W91 design entered into a Phase 2 design competition between the various nuclear weapons laboratories in November 1988. Further development details are somewhat unclear, but a Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...
design won the competition.
The design that emerged had a weight of , with a two selectable yields of . Other physical characteristics have not been well described in public documents. The design has been described as being named the "New Mexico 1" code name, and as using TATB
TATB, triaminotrinitrobenzene or 2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene is an aromatic explosive, based on the basic six-carbon benzene ring structure with three nitro functional groups (NO2) and three amine (NH2) groups attached, alternating aroun ...
based insensitive plastic bonded explosive
Polymer-bonded explosives, also called PBX or plastic-bonded explosives, are explosive materials in which explosive powder is bound together in a matrix using small quantities (typically 5–10% by weight) of a synthetic polymer. PBXs are normally ...
and a fire-resistant nuclear fissile material core or pit.
The design was cancelled in September 1991 along with the SRAM T missile, prior to production of any units, though some test devices may have been manufactured.
Notably, the W91 was the last new US nuclear weapon design to reach the point of receiving a model number designation (entering Phase 3 development status).
See also
*List of nuclear weapons
This is a list of nuclear weapons listed according to country of origin, and then by type within the states.
United States
US nuclear weapons of all types – bombs, warheads, shells, and others – are numbered in the same sequence starting wi ...
References
External links
University of California 1989 nuclear weapons labs status report
at the Nuclear Weapon Archive a
nuclearweaponarchive.org
{{United States nuclear devices Nuclear warheads of the United States Abandoned military projects of the United States