W82
Encyclopedia
The W82 was a low yield tactical nuclear warhead developed by the United States
and designed to be used in a 155mm artillery shell (sometimes called the XM-735 shell). It was conceived as a more flexible replacement for the W48
, the previous generation of 155mm nuclear artillery
shell. A previous attempt to replace the W48 with the W74 munition
was canceled due to cost.
Originally envisioned as a dual purpose weapon, with interchangeable components to allow the shell to function as either a 'standard' fission explosive, or an "enhanced radiation" (neutron) device, the warhead was developed at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory starting in 1977. The eventual prototype round had a yield of 2 kilotons in a package 34 inches long and weighing 95 lbs, which included the rocket-assisted
portion of the shell. The unit cost of the weapon was estimated at $4 million. Although enhanced radiation devices were considered more effective at blunting an invasion due to the high and persistent radiation that they produce, the more complex design eventually led to the cancellation of the dual purpose W-82-0 program in 1982. Development of a 'standard' weapon, the W-82-1, was re-started in 1986. The program was finally cancelled in 1991 due to the end of the Cold war
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and designed to be used in a 155mm artillery shell (sometimes called the XM-735 shell). It was conceived as a more flexible replacement for the W48
W48
The W48 was an American nuclear artillery shell, fired from a standard 155 mm howitzer e.g. the M114 or M198. It was manufactured starting in 1963, and all units were retired in 1992....
, the previous generation of 155mm nuclear artillery
Nuclear artillery
Nuclear artillery is a subset of limited-yield tactical nuclear weapons, in particular those weapons that are launched from the ground at battlefield targets...
shell. A previous attempt to replace the W48 with the W74 munition
W74
The W74 was an experimental American nuclear artillery shell.Responding to a 1969 United States Army request for a replacement for the W48 155 mm artillery shell, the Los Alamos National Laboratory started development of the W74. However, by mid 1973 the program was discontinued without...
was canceled due to cost.
Originally envisioned as a dual purpose weapon, with interchangeable components to allow the shell to function as either a 'standard' fission explosive, or an "enhanced radiation" (neutron) device, the warhead was developed at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory starting in 1977. The eventual prototype round had a yield of 2 kilotons in a package 34 inches long and weighing 95 lbs, which included the rocket-assisted
Rocket Assisted Projectile
A Rocket Assisted Projectile is an artillery or cannon round incorporating a rocket motor for independent propulsion. This grants the projectile both greater speed and range than an ordinary shell, which is propelled only by the ballistic force of the gun's exploding charge...
portion of the shell. The unit cost of the weapon was estimated at $4 million. Although enhanced radiation devices were considered more effective at blunting an invasion due to the high and persistent radiation that they produce, the more complex design eventually led to the cancellation of the dual purpose W-82-0 program in 1982. Development of a 'standard' weapon, the W-82-1, was re-started in 1986. The program was finally cancelled in 1991 due to the end of the Cold war
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.