W93

For the polyhedron, see Great truncated cuboctahedron.

The W93 is an American nuclear warhead planned to replace the W76 and W88 warheads on United States Navy submarines from 2034. The warhead will be carried on the new Columbia-class submarines^[1] and will use a new aeroshell, the Mark 7 reentry body (RB).^[2] The warhead will be designed by Los Alamos National Laboratory.^[3]

W93
Type	Nuclear weapon
Service history
In service	Planned from 2034
Used by	United States Navy
Production history
Designer	Los Alamos National Laboratory
Designed	Planned from 2023
Specifications
Detonation mechanism	Contact, airburst

The Mark 7 RB will also be used to house the United Kingdom's new warhead, Astraea, designed in parallel to the W93 and sharing some non-nuclear components.^[4]

Design

The warhead is expected to incorporate improved safety features such as insensitive high explosives.^[1] According to the United States Department of Energy, the design will be based on previously tested nuclear components and will not require nuclear testing.^[5] However, some critics have called for testing the new design to ensure safety and reliability.^[6]

See also

• Trident (UK nuclear programme)
• Astraea - planned British warhead sharing Mark 7 RB