Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS March Meeting 2019
Volume 64, Number 2
Monday–Friday, March 4–8, 2019; Boston, Massachusetts
Session V60: The Future of U.S. Nuclear Forces: What Do We Need?Invited Undergraduate
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Sponsoring Units: FPS Chair: Frank von Hippel, Princeton University Room: BCEC 258A |
Thursday, March 7, 2019 2:30PM - 3:06PM |
V60.00001: Nuclear Modernization, ICBMs, and Launch On Warning Invited Speaker: Steve Fetter The US is replacing all three legs of the triad, ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), bombers, and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), at a cost of over $1.2 trillion. The SSBN force is the core of the deterrent because it can survive a Russian attack and deliver a devastating retaliatory strike. The strategic bomber can support conventional missions and the cost of adding a nuclear capability is modest. But silo-based ICBMs are not survivable; they can be destroyed in a first-strike. For this reason, ICBMs are kept ready to be launched on warning of a Russian attack. This forces decisions to be made in minutes and creates the possibility of launch on false warning. |
Thursday, March 7, 2019 3:06PM - 3:42PM |
V60.00002: US Plans for New Nuclear Weapons Invited Speaker: Lisbeth Gronlund For decades, the United States produced a stream of nuclear warheads, with new types replacing previous types on an ongoing basis. It did not seriously consider the behavior of aging warheads until it declared a moratorium on nuclear explosive testing in 1992. At that time the United States believed it could not validate new warhead designs without nuclear testing, and that it would therefore have to extend the life of existing warheads. Two warhead types have undergone life extension programs that were straightforward refurbishments. However, the latest plan is to replace—not refurbish—one of the warheads deployed on silo-based missiles. The weapons designers now believe their computer models allow them to validate new designs without explosive testing. I will discuss the rationale for this new warhead and the downsides of deploying it. |
Thursday, March 7, 2019 3:42PM - 4:54PM |
V60.00003: Current Nuclear Weapons Issues, and Sid Drell's Contributions to Arms Control and Strategic Stability Invited Speaker: Richard L. Garwin 1. The history of the M-X missile, of various bomber programs, and naval ship procurement confirms that one of the great threats to U.S. national security is the aggressive overselling and underpricing of weapon systems. |
Thursday, March 7, 2019 4:54PM - 5:30PM |
V60.00004: Engaging the Physics Community in Nuclear Threat Reduction Invited Speaker: Stewart Prager The threat posed by nuclear weapons has been well-known, well-articulated, and well-studied for 70 years. Most importantly, a network of international agreements has slowed proliferation and led to dramatic reduction in the number of warheads in the US and Russia. Despite these advances, the grave threat persists and is arguably getting worse – a result of weapons spread to nine nations, the appearance of non-state actors, the threat of cyber attacks against weapon systems, weapons modernization over the coming decades, withdrawal from treaties, potential new tactical weapons, and government discussions of reducing the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. Yet, this issue is largely ignored by the public. Physicists have a special relation to nuclear arms and, if organized, can add an influential voice to the effort to reduce the threat. There are many threat reduction steps that the physics community can encourage, such as de-alerting, adoption of policies of no-first-use and no launch-on-warning, reduction of global weapons-usable materials and much more. An initiative is being formulated to engage and activate the US physics community to this end. |
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