Does the US still have the neutron bomb?

[Hermann Cheruscan]

Does the US still have the neutron bomb in its nuclear arsenal? I'm just curious.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

No, but Australia does.

Yup.

Olivia Neutron-Bomb. :D

[dylan_73]

Don't know, but I found it amusing that in one UK newspaper (the Guardian?) they described the Neutron bomb as "capable of destroying biological weapons without damaging surrounding structures"...

Well, yeah it's accurate, but way to miss the point guys... :)

[World Eater]

Originally posted by dylan_73
Don't know, but I found it amusing that in one UK newspaper (the Guardian?) they described the Neutron bomb as "capable of destroying biological weapons without damaging surrounding structures"...

Interesting way to put it.

[DreadCthulhu]

That is inaccurate- Neutron bombs do have a good-sized explosion, and they will damage surrounding structures. The main difference between a neutron bomb and a normal nuke is a slightly smaller blast for a lot more radiation.

[bonzer]

Not in any substantial numbers, if at all. As this 1991 article (http://web2.iadfw.net/myself/secular/writing/n_bomb.htm) describes, the neutron bomb was deployed in the 80s mainly in the form of Lance missiles. More specifically, it became the W-70 warhead used to arm them. However, by 1999, when he testified (http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/ctbt/news/991006-ctbt-usia7.htm) before the Senate Armed Services Committee, William Cohen was able to say:
But more has changed in the past seven years than simply my moving my desk across the Potomac. Many of the older weapons in the stockpile are no longer there; since then the W-33, W-48, and W-79 artillery shells, W-70 (LANCE warhead), B-53 (bomb), and W-56 (Minuteman II warhead), all of which had safety deficiencies have been retired, easing my concerns.
Furthermore, this FAS-endorsed description of the current US stockpile (http://nuketesting.enviroweb.org/hew/Usa/Weapons/Wpngall.html) doesn't include anything resembling a neutron bomb. The strategic circumstances had, of course, shifted since 1991.

The US does however, presumably, retain the capability of manufacturing such warheads should their possession be deemed advantageous.

[Turek]

Originally posted by dylan_73
Don't know, but I found it amusing that in one UK newspaper (the Guardian?) they described the Neutron bomb as "capable of destroying biological weapons without damaging surrounding structures"...

Well, yeah it's accurate, but way to miss the point guys... :)

I think that description belongs in this (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=170124) thread. :rolleyes: