Nuclear weapons

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has shown off the United States' latest nuclear weapon as full production begins seven months ahead of schedule. The B61-13 variable-yield gravity bomb is part of a major program to modernize the American nuclear deterrent.

The Trump administration's Iron Dome for America executive order is causing political ripples, but with the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) soliciting industry input on the concept, how would such a comprehensive missile defense system work?

A Cold War nuclear missile will remain in service for a total of 94 years thanks to a US$383 million US Navy contract, with Lockheed Martin to modernize the submarine-launched Trident II missile and stretch its life until 2084.

In June 1974, the offices of the Summa Corporation in LA were broken into, sparking the revelation of one of the oddest and boldest stories in the history of espionage. It involved submarines, a mad millionaire, and an absolutely wild cover story.

One of the world's most significant historic documents will sell at public auction on the March 14. "Atomic Bombs," written just weeks before the first such weapons dropped on Japan, records a researcher's-eye view of the Manhattan Project.

Despite a 2024 so far marked with serious conflicts that threaten to escalate further, climate uncertainty and the rapid ascension of AI technologies, the famous Doomsday Clock has remained paused at 90 seconds to midnight, the same time as last year.

On November 18, 2023, over the Bay of Biscay, France successfully launched the latest unarmed version of the three-stage M51.3 strategic ballistic missile that carries the country's submarine-borne nuclear deterrent wing.

An international team of IT security experts, led by the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (MPI-SP) and Ruhr University Bochum, have developed a way of using radio signals to verify the location of nuclear weapon stockpiles.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has announced that the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will build a new high-yield nuclear gravity bomb called the B61-13 once given Congressional approval and funding.

The US Air Force has confirmed that its Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider heavy strategic bomber has begun ground taxi tests in Palmdale, California. The secret tests indicate that the maiden flight of the stealth warplane is on track for later this year.

The US Navy has highlighted the future of the US/UK seaborne nuclear deterrent by successfully launching a Trident II D5 Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) from the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Louisiana for a record 191 times.

In the run up to its maiden flight later this year, Northrop Grumman and the US Air Force have released new images of the B-21 Raider heavy nuclear bomber as it begins ground engine runs at Northrop's Palmdale, California, facility.