The Pentagon confirmed Tuesday that it has deployed the W76-2 low-yield warhead for submarine-launched ballistic-missiles.
“The U.S. Navy has fielded the W76-2 low-yield submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) warhead.,” according to a statement from Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood.
The nongovernmental Federation of American Scientists reported last week that the Navy deployed “one or two” W76-2 warheads on Trident II D5 missiles in December. The missiles were carried on an Atlantic patrol by the ballistic-missile submarine USS Tennessee, which the organization said left Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia in late 2019.
In the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, the Donald Trump administration said the U.S. required a low-yield nuclear weapon that could evade air defenses in order to dissuade an adversary from trying to win a conflict with a limited nuclear strike. The review specifically cited Russia as the potential adversary in this scenario.
The W76-2 is a modified version of the W76-1 warhead, which itself is a refurbished version of the smaller of the Navy’s two sub-loaded ballistic-missile warheads. The W76-1 life extension, which wrapped up about a year ago, aimed to keep the weapon in service for another 30 years.
The W76-1 has a roughly 100-kiloton yield, while W76-2 might have a yield of less than 10 kilotons, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service, which cites unspecified unclassified sources.
Opponents of the W76-2 say that: the new weapon unnecessarily duplicates capabilities already approximated by the B61 nuclear gravity bomb and the W80-tipped AGM-86B air-launched cruise missile; that its use would needlessly expose to counterattack the ballistic missile submarines intended to dissuade Russia and other nuclear adversaries from launching a full-scale nuclear-strike on the U.S. homeland; and that limited nuclear war will lead to general nuclear war.
Among the most powerful opponents of the low-yield weapon is Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Smith attempted to ban the Navy from deploying the W76-2 as part of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, but the proposal died in negotiations with the Senate.
In a statement this week, Smith criticized the White House’s decision to deploy the weapon, and the Pentagon’s lack of communication with Congress on the matter.
“DOD’s inability and unwillingness to answer congressional questions about the weapon over the past few months has only raised more concerns and uncertainty,” Smith stated. “The Administration must have an open and continuous dialogue with Congress so we can fully understand the decisions, long-term strategy, and rationale related to this significant shift in U.S. nuclear strategy.”
