thumb|MC3810 Mk5 Arming, Fuzing and Firing system used on the W88|320px
Key facts
- Weapon.name
- W88
- Weapon.image
- W-88 warhead diagram.svg
- Weapon.image_size
- 250
- Weapon.caption
- Diagram of the W88 warhead: In 1999, information was released showing that in the W88, the primary (top) is egg-shaped, while the secondary (bottom) is spherical.
- Weapon.type
- Nuclear weapon
- Weapon.is_explosive
- yes
- Weapon.service
- 1989–present
- Weapon.used_by
- United States Navy
- Weapon.designer
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Weapon.design_date
- 1970s to 1980s
- Weapon.manufacturer
- Rocky Flats
- Weapon.production_date
- 1988–1989 (full production)
- Weapon.number
- ~400
- Weapon.length
- Approximately
- Weapon.detonation
- Contact, airburst
via Wikipedia infobox
~6 min read
Article
7 sectionsContents
- History
- Design revelations
- Komodo
- See also
- Explanatory notes
- References
- External links
thumb|MC3810 Mk5 Arming, Fuzing and Firing system used on the W88|320px
The W88 is an American thermonuclear warhead, with an estimated yield of , and is small enough to fit on missiles with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV). The W88 was designed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the 1970s and first placed into service in 1989. The director of Los Alamos who had presided over its development described it as "the most advanced U.S. nuclear warhead". The latest version is the W88 ALT 370, the first unit of which came into production on 1 July 2021, after 11 years of development. The Trident II, a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) can be armed with up to eight W88 warheads. The W88 is set to become the highest-yield warhead in the US arsenal when the B83 nuclear bomb is retired likely before 2027.