W70
Encyclopedia
W70 is the designation for a tactical nuclear warhead developed by the United States
in the early 1970s. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
designed W70 was used on the MGM-52 Lance. About 1250 were built in total. The warhead had a variable yield
of between 1 and 100 kilotons, selectable by the user. The design dates from 1973.
The W70-3 was a modified version of the W70 and one of the first warheads to be battlefield-ready with an "enhanced radiation" (i.e. neutron bomb
) feature. It had an explosive yield of about 1 kt., was manufactured during 1981-83, and was retired by 1992; 380 were built. Note that using the explosive yield of a neutron weapon to measure its destructive power can be deceptive: most of the injuries inflicted by a neutron weapon are caused by its intense pulse
of ionising radiation, not from heat and blast.
The inventor of the neutron bomb, Samuel Cohen, has criticized the description of the W70 as a "neutron bomb
":
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the early 1970s. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , just outside Livermore, California, is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center founded by the University of California in 1952...
designed W70 was used on the MGM-52 Lance. About 1250 were built in total. The warhead had a variable yield
Variable yield
Variable yield — or dial-a-yield — is an option available on most modern nuclear weapons. It allows the operator to specify a weapon's yield, or explosive power, allowing a single design to be used in different situations...
of between 1 and 100 kilotons, selectable by the user. The design dates from 1973.
The W70-3 was a modified version of the W70 and one of the first warheads to be battlefield-ready with an "enhanced radiation" (i.e. neutron bomb
Neutron bomb
A neutron bomb or enhanced radiation weapon or weapon of reinforced radiation is a type of thermonuclear weapon designed specifically to release a large portion of its energy as energetic neutron radiation rather than explosive energy...
) feature. It had an explosive yield of about 1 kt., was manufactured during 1981-83, and was retired by 1992; 380 were built. Note that using the explosive yield of a neutron weapon to measure its destructive power can be deceptive: most of the injuries inflicted by a neutron weapon are caused by its intense pulse
Pulse (physics)
In physics, a pulse is a single disturbance that moves through a medium from one point to the next point.-Pulse Reflection:Consider a pulse moving through a medium - perhaps through a rope or a slinky. When the pulse reaches the end of that medium, what happens to it depends on whether the medium...
of ionising radiation, not from heat and blast.
The inventor of the neutron bomb, Samuel Cohen, has criticized the description of the W70 as a "neutron bomb
Neutron bomb
A neutron bomb or enhanced radiation weapon or weapon of reinforced radiation is a type of thermonuclear weapon designed specifically to release a large portion of its energy as energetic neutron radiation rather than explosive energy...
":
- the W-70 ... is not even remotely a "neutron bomb." Instead of being the type of weapon that, in the popular mind, "kills people and spares buildings" it is one that both kills and physically destroys on a massive scale. The W-70 is not a discriminate weapon, like the neutron bomb — which, incidentally, should be considered a weapon that "kills enemy personnel while sparing the physical fabric of the attacked populace, and even the populace too."http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_29_15/ai_55426724/pg_2