Nation’s Most Powerful Nuclear Bomb Dismantled Today
- Posted on October 25, 2011 at 1:40pm by
Liz Klimas
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B53 bombs were developed by Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. The last of these bombs is now being disassembled. (Photo: NNSA)
AMARILLO, Texas (The Blaze/AP) — The last of the nation’s most powerful nuclear bombs — a weapon 600 times stronger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima — is being disassembled nearly half a century after it was put into service at the height of the Cold War.
The final components of the 10,000 pound, minivan-sized B53 bomb will be broken down today at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, the nation’s only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility. The completion of the dismantling program is a year ahead of schedule, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, and aligns with President Barack Obama’s goal of reducing the number of nuclear weapons.
(Photo: NNSA)
What does dismantling involve? Explosives — 300 pounds worth — are separated form the nuclear material, the pit. The uranium pit will be stored with others from dismantled bombs on an interim basis at the plant, according to Pantex spokesman Greg Cunningham said.
The material and components are then processed, which includes sanitizing, recycling and disposal, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration. According to the NNSA press release announcing the dismantling in 2010, the process follows requirements under the Seamless Safety for the 21st Century (SS-21), which “integrates the weapon system with the facility, tooling, operating procedures and personnel involved in the dismantlement program to form a safe, efficient and effective operating environment.”
Here the bomb's parts head for the shredder. (Photo: NNSA)
And here's the result, scraps of B53 parts. (Photo: NNSA)
“The dismantlement of the B53 bomb — the oldest weapon in America’s arsenal and one of the largest in U.S. history — is a major accomplishment that has made the world safer and for which everyone involved should be proud,” said Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman. “Safely and securely dismantling surplus weapons is a critical step along the road to achieving President Obama’s vision of a world without nuclear weapons.”
Wired reports that B53s were designed to burrow and destroy underground facilities, leaving only a “smoldering crater” in its wake:
The B53 wasn’t just any old megabomb. It was the first bunker buster. U.S. nuclear doctrine called for it to be delivered over suspected underground Soviet command-and-control facilities.
[...]
“It was one heck of a whopper,” [Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of the American Scientists Hans] Kristensen says. “We have nothing that comes close to it in the stockpile anymore, and neither does Russia. It’s the end of an era.”
Watch NNSA explain the dismantling effort:
Since it was made using older technology by engineers who have since retired or died, developing a disassembly process took time. Engineers had to develop complex tools and new procedures to ensure safety.
“We knew going in that this was going to be a challenging project, and we put together an outstanding team with all of our partners to develop a way to achieve this objective safely and efficiently,” said John Woolery, the plant’s general manager.
Many of the B53s were disassembled in the 1980s, but a significant number remained in the U.S. arsenal until they were retired from the stockpile in 1997. Cunningham said he couldn’t comment on how many of the bombs have been disassembled at the Texas plant.
This B52 airplane was built to carry nuclear weapons, like the B53 bomb. (Photo: NNSA)
The plant will play a large role in similar projects as older weapons are retired from the U.S.’s nuclear arsenal. But, Wired reports that the United States still has 1,500 nuclear weapons.
[H/T Gizmodo]
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Comments (87)
Netsurfer2
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:18pmI’m sure we will start fighting wars with nuclear star wars satellites. We have planned it for years and I’m sure there is more tot he story! Not like we don’t have many other capabilities!
Report Post »Bernard
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:00pmIt goes with Obama’s log sided, apologetic foreign policies. When nation after nation are going nuclear and those already advanced are building more nuclear bombs. Obama in his political correctness, is disarming the US. Just lovely.
Report Post »the hawk
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:26pmI hope we dont find out were wrong !
Report Post »OhioRifleman
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 8:14pm@ hawk
By the time we find out we are wrong (Not _if_, but _when_, mind you), it will already be too late. One nuke, one city, instant global financial meltdown. The instability of a city getting cored out would shove the whole world off the edge of the cliff.
Of course, I hope we have a President with the stones to return the favor in spades, but Obama isn’t that kind of man. The poor sods that just became fallout in the wind would not even get the luxury of company in hell 30 mins after they arrive, which has always been our doctrine…until recently.
God help us all, for we will need it.
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 9:39pmThere goes the mecca glass maker!!!
Report Post »Ookspay
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 10:58pmIt sure seems like a lot of work disassembling these babies. Why not just let them disassemble themselves over Tehran?
Report Post »paintbrushbright
Posted on October 26, 2011 at 2:06amI hope Obama held back one of those bombs for a reserve in case Iran sends one of theirs to downtown New York. It would be a dam shame not having a weapon of equal destruction to use on an evil enemy.
Report Post »Latter-Day-Soldier
Posted on October 26, 2011 at 3:49am@paintbrushbright,
No, he would instead go to Tehran, bow down on a bent knee to the current Ayatollah and beg forgiveness for western civilizations assault on Islamic sensitivities and culture and blame America
Report Post »M1A2_Tanker
Posted on October 26, 2011 at 3:58am“The dismantlement of the B53 bomb — the oldest weapon in America’s arsenal and one of the largest in U.S. history — is a major accomplishment that has made the world safer and for which everyone involved should be proud,” said Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman.
Really? I was unaware that the U.S. was such a threat to the world? BS the world is SAFER with America ensuring that terrorist regimes around the world will receive 100 times the nuclear blast that they dish out. America is the sole reason nuclear wars have been prevented. These people have lost their friggin minds and are unfit to serve the people!
Report Post »Godspeed7
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 6:37pmWell the first thing we could do to save money and contribute in a positive manner towards the debt issue is to stop funding the dismantling program. For whatever reason, I just think it’s a good idea to have the “biggest” one. Not sayin‘ you can’t use the newer models if they work better but it would be nice to know you got the biggest. Nice to have an intimidation factor. Wonder what Patton would say?
Report Post »LiveOak11
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 6:52pmI agree. “The world” may be safer, but are WE??? I believe in walking softly but carrying a big, sturdy stick.
Report Post »Mil-Dot
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 6:58pmIt is (was) a 9 megaton hydrogen bomb. Pretty huge by nuke standards. The W88 warhead used on the Trident submarine launched ballistic missile uses multiple 480 K MIRVs. By comparison, go to YouTube and take a look at Shot Baker. It was a mere 23 kiloton yield detonated 90 feet under water. Then think of a 480 k. I think you will get the picture.
Report Post »Whiskey-Sierra-Yankee-7th-Calvary
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 5:56pmNoooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!
Report Post »nilo
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 5:55pmThe deterrent is being removed.
Report Post »logical1
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 5:31pmIts been proven that multiple, smaller, independent warheads, like the MIRVs that our submarine fleet uses, are much more effective than a single, large warhead. Bombs of that size were actually overkill, and I would support recycling that material.
Report Post »The problem is, Obama doesnt seem to want to build any newer, higher-tech ones either. This will simply let Russia get the upper hand.
Not mentioned, though, are the nukes that China has. They have the largest, most powerful ICBMs in existence…more powerful singularly than anything we or the former Soviet Union had. Not many people like to talk about those. We’re too busy playing patty-cake with Russia, while China owns us both. Great strategy!
babylonvi
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 6:56pmHow about instant recycling it into Iran?
Report Post »loadingmyclips
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 5:00pmSo NOW WHAT will we drop on iran!?!?!?!?!
Report Post »PerfectDuck
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 6:13pmespecially since the iranian enrichment facilities are deep underground and this bomb was designed for … “deep underground targets”
Report Post »Researching/Building these cost us so much and now just throw them away, that would be like developing a new fighter aircraft and then halting production. like that would ever happen..
v12tommy
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:47pmWhy do they shred what is left of the bomb? Once the explosives and nuclear material are removed, it would be a nice addition to a museum. Hell, if they are going to scap them, one would make a nice addition to my backyard.
Report Post »Lesbian Packing Hollow Points
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:37pm“Making the rubble bounce” was a noble goal.
And as for this device’s MO, if it was truly a ground-penetrator, a digger, which I doubt considering the blunt-nosed design, then it was one of the safer bombs. Safer for those near the target and the world in general. A bomb that explodes above a target irradiates everything on the ground. It then vaporizes it and renders it into fall-out ash. That fall-out will range far and wide down-wind, rendering large swaths of land uninhabitable.
In contrast, a penetrator, which burrows down several dozen to several hundred feet deep into an underground facility before detonating by and large uses the ground above it as a cap to keep the lion’s share of the radioactive material localized and buried, rather than scattered on the wind. A digger is as close to a pin-point, surgical device as a nuclear bomb gets. We should have more nuclear bombs in our arsenal which are penetrators, not less.
Report Post »OhioRifleman
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 8:06pmActually, what they mean by a ground penetrator in this case is that the blast is so freaking big the shockwave will collapse any underground buildings or targets within a certain radius of the blast focal point. It is still technically an air-burst weapon, but depending on how it is fuzed it may be used for topical or underground attack.
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:35pmThe Russians and Chinese I’m sure are feverishly dismantling their nuclear arsenal,they must be right?
Report Post »They said they would.Barry believes them so it‘ll be okay I’m sure.Obamazombies will believe anything he says.
digison
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:33pmSo, how does taking apart a nuke work? “OK, now hand me the 1/4″ nutdriver. OK, give me the lineman’s pliars… oops…”
Report Post »BluifoxEd
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:29pmDo you cut the blue or the red wire?
Report Post »AB5r
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:25pmWe should have used a couple of those on Mecca.
Report Post »Mil-Dot
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:07pmYou wouldn’t even need 1/1000th of that thing to flaten Mecca.
Report Post »watman43
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:27pmterror problem solved !
Report Post »BannedByHuffpo
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:18pmShould’ve sold it to the Chinese, like we’ve done with everything else and used the cash to pay down the debt.
Report Post »abseas
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:18pmWhen it comes to nuclear weapons and this administration, or any administration as far as that goes, you never know what to believe. Everything’s smoke and mirrors. When I was in the millitary dealing with nukes on a weekly, sometimes daily basis, I used to laugh at the total ignorance of the general public concerning these matters. When it comes to the Obummer administration and their control over this stuff, I no longer laugh, I worry . . . . A lot!
Report Post »TheDebtWeAllPay
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:17pmYeah we dismantled that one but what u dont know is to the left of that picture there is 10 more lined up but shhhhhhhh dont tell the soviet union……. ohh i mean russia
Report Post »USAF72
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:23pmBelieve it or not, when I worked at a Naval Shipyard decommissioning SSBN’s, we had to leave the removed missile launch tubes exposed in the dry dock on a designated day and period of time so Soviet satellites could photograph them. This was part of the disarmament treaty. I sure the Soviets did the same thing being they are so trustworthy. Not!
Report Post »TheFonz
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:16pmInstead of taking it apart, they should have dropped it out in the Nevada desert, like the old days. Would have been a helluva lot more fun.
Report Post »FifthWheel
Posted on October 26, 2011 at 1:54pmYes, right over Harry Reid’s house.
Report Post »Remembering Ruby Ridge
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:12pmI don’t know if we have another or even parts to put it together again. Remember liberalism is a mental disorder! Obama and our congress and senate and judicial officials have done more damage than 1,000 of these bombs could do. Hard to believe the world and esp. Americans are this damn stupid!
Report Post »selloursouls
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:11pmDoes Obama mean his vision of when the US doesn’t have nuclear weapons and our biggest enemies do? The concept of nukes is the same as a gun, I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Let’s see, Iran developing nukes, China ever a threat, Putin turning Russia into Soviet Union all over again, terrorist groups gaining control of Middle East, yep I feel safe. At least we have the TSA to pat down 90 year old grandmas still
Report Post »rogue operator
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:09pmEver hear of Tsar Bomba, dummies? You think the Russians and Chinese are going to stop innovating just cause we want to play nice? Naw, doesn’t work like that.
Report Post »Consentiondum
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 9:33pmWe still have Nukes. We still have nukes more powerful than those dropped on Japan. They are devastating no matter how big they are… and we have hundreds. This doesn’t matter.
Report Post »rjoco1
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:04pmTrust but verify
Report Post »The Old Sage
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:04pmI think we soon will be a third world power. We could have used these bombs to discourage Iran from making a nuclear weapon. It was said we couldn’t take out all there arsenals for making a nuclear weapon. This nuclear bomb plainly shows we do have the weapons to do the job and very easily. They are also bunker busters and only one would do the trick to stop all buildings and future buildings of nuclear weapons in Iran and probably elsewhere. With this administration as with the last we no longer have the stones to do what needs to be done. We are now only wussies and like that bomb we are being dismantled just as it is………. to now live in fear of being destroyed ourselves.
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 3:57pm“the process follows requirements under the Seamless Safety for the 21st Century (SS-21)” Ironic. The SS-21 “Scarab” was a Soviet (currently Russian (?)) short range nuclear-capable ballistic missile!
Report Post »LiveOak11
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 7:00pmThis also follows mandates in the U.N.’s AGENDA 21. Bush #1 signed s up for all of this.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 3:53pmWhen does the WH put up a White Flag?
Report Post »Bill in Texas
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:06pmAs soon as we start speaking French. lol
Report Post »Latter-Day-Soldier
Posted on October 26, 2011 at 3:54amDon’t you mean “When does the white house put up the ”black (Islamic)“ flag”? Aren’t there already muslim prayer rugs in the oval office?
Report Post »Seabird
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 3:49pmSo what will we due when they come for us?
Report Post »Consentiondum
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 9:29pmUse one of our other nukes that is still more powerful than any of our potential enemies could manufacture.
We got rid of one insanely powerful nuke. Big deal, we have hundreds more that could still level most of a city.
Report Post »austinanderson
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 3:46pmI bet we still have another one. This is for show.
Report Post »The Old Sage
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:14pmWith This Administration!! …….. surely you jest or are you dreaming? Either way we are going to be living in fear more than we are right now very soon because we are all being dismantled. Even by the statement you just made, because this President isn’t J.F.K. and we aren’t living anymore in a Capitalist era. We even want Japan to forgive us for dropping the bomb on them by this administration. I LAUGH AT THIS STATEMENT…… Wake Up!!!!!
Report Post »MinorityRightsAdvocate
Posted on October 25, 2011 at 4:44pmDream on and wish, DO NOT COUNT on IT!
Report Post »We are being dismantled, just as Soros wanted, his puppet Obama is doing the work.
We have no way to take out the likely enemy facilities this was built to deal with, but they DO have what they need to take our facilities out.
I won’t add any details, but I do KNOW this.
This is what we get when the population is ignorant enough to elect such leaders as we have now.
We can be as mad as we want at those dismantling our nation from within, but how did they get there? We the people have failed also, we let it happen. 2012 elections cannot come fast enough, and if we fail again, it is over. Brace for chaos and decades of decline, it is coming.