U.S. announces completion of W62 warhead dismantlement
07:26 13/08/2010
MOSCOW, August 13 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced it had dismantled the last W62 nuclear warhead, produced in early 1970-s.
The U.S. has produced a total of 1,725 such warheads, mainly from 1970 to 1976, and they were in service until recently. The delivery platform was the Air Force Minuteman III ICBM.
"Completing the last W62 dismantlement is a tangible demonstration of our firm commitment to support the President's goal of reducing the number of nuclear weapons and their role in the U.S. national security strategy," U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said.
The dismantling of the retired warhead was completed almost one year ahead of schedule, he added.
The program was in line with the goal U.S. President Barack Obama announced in his April 2009 speech in Prague, where he pledged to "reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy."
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