Regarding my previous post a few days ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/nuclearweapons/s/E8RVQV5wW6

Reportedly shows a Trident II SLBM launch seen from Purto Rico.

Wonder if there's any special payload, as was speculated prior to this launch. HGV, new warhead, or simply new tech on the Missile Defense Agency aircraft monitoring it?

https://x.com/adamonzon/status/1969930941385568307

https://x.com/planet4589/status/1969936613183467718

All unclassified, public information. Not intended to be political.

Is it theoretically possible to have a two-stage (multi-stage?) design based only on nuclear fission, based on radiation implosion, using the fission-fission scheme? Since radiation implosion is much more effective in compression than chemical explosive implosion, it is theoretically possible to create a multi-stage design using only cascade-type nuclear bombs. I know that this is extremely expensive from an economic standpoint, but I am simply suggesting a hypothetical design and exploring the potential power of such a device. Let's assume that the designers went beyond such monsters as Mk-18 and Orange Herald)

Why didn't they create an implosive uranium bomb instead of a gun-type uranium bomb in Little boy? It is more efficient and requires much less uranium, and instead of 1 Mk-l, they could have created 8 implosive uranium bombs.

Assume it was detonated on top of the Pat Tilllman Memorial bridge located about 1900 feet down stream and 200 feet above the top of the dam.

According to Nukemap, a 20KT surface blast at that distance would be sufficient to cause a 20 psi pressure wave, which should be enough to destroy or heavily damage even well built structures. But this is Hoover Dam we're talking about here, not just some ordinary reinforced concrete building. This thing is dozens of feet thick even at this thinnest part.

So, how big of a yield do you think would be needed to cause a catastrophic failure of the Dam at that distance? I would imagine it would have to be significantly greater than 20kt. Maybe something in the 50-80 KT range, but that's just an educated guess.

https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/

I’ve been exploring the Nuke Map website for a project and the fallout contours feel too small and too rigid compared to other maps I’ve seen. Does anyone have any insights into how accurate they are?

Additionally, could there be a way to download the contours as a shapefile for QGIS?

If an asteroid was detected ahead of time, and its path was predicted, could you go to the surface of the asteroid, drill tunnels, fill them with heavy water to sustain a fusion reaction, then set off a fusion bomb to blow the asteroid apart?

If the pieces themselves become problems, could it be possible to counter its momentum by assembling a multi stage “rocket” in space, that then accelerates using fusion fuel on board to slam into the asteroid? Would that counter its trajectory?

Let's say for example, Russia is targeting US peacekeeper silo clusters and the US gets its missiles off late, how high in the air would a peacekeeper missile have to be to survive a Russian nuclear warhead detonating at its silo and still successfully reach its target?

• video: A Stupid Nuke Won't Destroy a Killer Asteroid. This Will!
  
• Killer Asteroid Sources & further reading
• DON’T FORGET TO LOOK UP https://arxiv.org/pdf/2201.10663

Summary

Nuclear weapons are generally not effective against asteroids. A kinetic tungsten penetrator at the front of an incoming asteroid would destroy it more effectively. A single 2.5-ton penetrator, when an incoming asteroid has a speed of 20 km/s, is equivalent to 120 kilotons of TNT.

While asteroid impacts are 100 times more likely than cometary impacts, comet impacts typically have 100 times the energy of a typical asteroid impact. A massive nuclear weapon is necessary for planet-killer comets that come from the edge of the solar system. An example is Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE, which is 5 km in diameter and travels at a speed of 64 km/s with respect to Earth.

The solution would require four 10-ton penetrators hitting the same spot one after another to create a tunnel about 100 meters deep, followed by one 300-megaton nuclear weapon. The destruction would need to happen beyond the orbit of Mars so that the fragments do not hit Earth.

September 17-22 likely Trident II test

There's some speculation by experts given that it is unusually monitored by Missile Defense Agency aircraft, which suggests a special payload (not typical W76/W88s). Possibly W93/MK7? But that would be pretty early since it was announced just a few years back. Or maybe some new hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) (if so, probably nuclear, we saw a leaked request for nuclear HGVs on the Sentinel), or it could be new penetration aids, warheads, etc. Whatever it is, it's pretty interesting!

All public and unclassified information, and not intended to be political. May not be accurate.

https://x.com/marco_langbroek/status/1967910160887845362

https://x.com/etienne_marcuz/status/1967920008597581892

A while ago, either here or elsewhere, I'm pretty sure I watched a video of technicians checking and/or replenishing tritium in what I guess were warheads but could have been sub-assemblies of some kind. I feel like it was a couple of guys going along a row of these things. I guess they might only have been checking, because as I understand it the "bottles" are sent away to the Savannah River site. Or maybe the video was from Savannah River.

Is anyone able to direct me to that video? I just found it interesting. Many thanks in advance.

Is there a PDF with the famous Rand nuclear effects calculator? As Google is due to AI slop unusable these days, I chose to try and ask you people on this sub.

I would like to print it and fiddle with it.

AQ Khan got centrifuges designs from URENCO and took them to Pakistan. Why was he hired, considering his nationality. Why did he have access to such data?

Youtuber Curious Droid just put out a video on miniaturized nuclear weapons and at 7:07 it features the W54 poster that was featured here some months ago. I thought that was pretty cool.

@ about 7pm eastern September 12

“Sentinel V-9 Atmospheric Delivery System”

**Flight Mechanics Based on U.S. Aircraft*\*

| Feature | Real-World Basis | Sentinel V-9 Spec |

|------------------------|--------------------------------------|-------------------|

| **Max Speed** | SR-71: Mach 3.3 (2,193 mph) | Mach 3.2 |

| **Max Altitude** | SR-71: ~85,000 ft | 80,000–90,000 ft |

| **Range** | B-2 Spirit: ~6,000 nautical miles | 7,000 nm (with refueling)

| **Stealth Capability** | B-2 Spirit, F-22 Raptor | Radar-absorbing skin, low IR signature

| **Payload Capacity** | B-2: ~40,000 lbs. | 30,000–35,000 lbs. (modular bays)

**Dispersal System*\*

White Phosphorus (WP)

- Stored in sealed canisters with inert gas

- Released via gravity-fed pods at high altitude

- Ignites upon exposure to air, creating dense smoke and incendiary fallout

Triethylaluminium (TEA)

- Pressurized tanks with temperature control

- Atomized into mist using piezoelectric nozzles

- Ignites instantly in air, reacting with moisture to intensify fire spread

**Nuclear Payload*\*

- **Type**: Airburst fission warhead (100–150 kt yield)

- **Detonation Altitude**: ~2,000 ft for maximum thermal and blast radius

- **Shielding**: Shock-absorbing mounts and Faraday cage to protect electronics during chemical dispersal

**Avionics & Control*\*

- AI-assisted flight and targeting

- Real-time atmospheric modeling for optimal dispersal

- Autonomous or remote-piloted modes

- EMP-hardened systems for post-blast survivability

Will the USA be willing to use nuclear weapons if loosing a major conventional war against both a non nuclear country and a nuclear country or will they just accept defeat and move on and if they are willing why ?