US advances development of W93 thermonuclear warhead

The United States has conducted a flight test of the body of the advanced W93 thermonuclear warhead to measure aerodynamic loads, according to the US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

The launch was carried out using an Atrax meteorological sounding rocket. The primary objective of the test was to measure the aerodynamic load on the warhead casing as it re-entered the atmosphere.

The results will be used in designing the W93’s non-nuclear components. The development is being carried out by specialists at Sandia National Laboratories.

The W93 is the first new thermonuclear warhead to be developed in the United States in nearly 40 years. The program was launched in May 2022 at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

Serial production of the warhead is expected to begin in the mid-2030s. The W93 is planned to be deployed on intercontinental ballistic missiles carried by Columbia-class strategic submarines.

By Jeyhun Aghazada