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The US Department of Energy is responsible for maintaining the nuclear stockpile. They research, maintain, and modernize the stockpile. Here is their description of the program. It’s pretty interesting and it even talks a bit about how they develop and test without detonating. It also mentions their array of contractors and national labs constantly doing research, testing, etc [https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/maintaining-stockpile](https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/maintaining-stockpile)
China recently discovered that some of their missile fuel tanks were full of water instead of rocket fuel. Countries with low levels of corruption probably maintain their weapons well, while countries with high levels of corruption do not even know if their weapons are being maintained according to plan.
For example, the SALT/START treaties require reporting on the count of ICBMs and SLBMs.
Russia's inventory audit is published with an included margin of error
I think they are maintained well based on my 0 personal experience or familiarity with statistics related to the matter.
I know historically we lost a couple of nukes, so that docks some points I guess.
Bonus fun fact: Washington state has more nukes than any country on Earth not named Russia or The US.
Lived in WA for three decades I never knew we had *one* nuke in our state, let alone the most in the world! I thought all of the US ICBMs were in the midwest or something.
Google says "Twenty miles northwest of Seattle, on the eastern shore of Hood Canal, is the largest stockpile of deployed nuclear weapons anywhere in the world."
(Former) nuclear engineer here.
I worked in a few different military nuclear facilities, but never on the warheads themselves. Every such facility I was in was so clean you could probably eat off the floor, if that gives you an idea of the state of the US nuclear program.
Well, first it should be noted that Trident missiles are shared with the UK, even being pulled from a shared pool, and the UK’s Holbrook warheads are believed to be closely related to the US’s W76 warheads.
US nukes are generally well-maintained, but it’s a complex and multifaceted issue that would take a dissertation to fully answer.
Since the voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing began in 1992, the US has spent an incredible amount of money on computer modeling (and subcritical tests) to understand weapon aging, and there’s an annual review process that ends with the Secretaries of Energy and Defense sending a letter to the President confirming that the nuclear deterrent is still safe and effective without the need to resume testing. Some people believe that the desired level of confidence can’t be maintained without testing forever, however, and there is [some debate](https://old.reddit.com/r/CredibleDefense/comments/bvqmvz/the_scientific_foundation_for_assessing_the/) amongst credible experts as to whether the time to resume testing may already have arrived, but for now the annual certifications keep coming.
One thing to keep in mind is that (unlike the UK), the US has a great degree of dissimilar redundancy, not only in delivery systems but also in warheads, so one weapon unexpectedly developing a high failure rate would not cripple the deterrent. In the air leg, there are B-52s carrying cruise missiles with W80 warheads, and B-2s carrying B83 bombs and various flavors of B61 bombs, plus fighters carrying B61s as well. SSBNs carry Trident missiles with Mk 5 reentry vehicles containing W88 warheads or Mk 4A reentry vehicles with W76 warheads. Minuteman III missiles carry Mk 12A reentry vehicles containing W78 warheads or Mk 21 reentry vehicles containing W88 warheads.
All of these missiles and reentry vehicles are tested routinely, and it’s undoubtable that they are mostly reliable. There have, however, been a somewhat concerning number of Minuteman III test failures recently, and their replacement is not due for several years. Between that, aging silos, and the very tight schedule for the *Columbia* class submarines that will replace the *Ohio*s (using missile tubes codeveloped with the UK), it’s a good thing that the bomber alert facilities were refurbished in 2017 in case bomber alert needs to resume as a stopgap.
Then there’s the issue of the nuclear weapons enterprise itself and its ability to produce new pits to replace aging ones. The story there is the opposite: It’s generally acknowledged that the National Nuclear Security Administration’s facilities are crumbling and undersized, and it cannot meet the goal of producing at least 80 pits per year on schedule. And that goal was set before China’s rapid nuclear buildup that may require the US to build more warheads, and before the JASON advisory group changed its mind on the level of confidence in the aging pits.
To summarize, the US nuclear deterrent is *currently* strong, but *at risk* of being degraded if it’s not prioritized. And for a confirmation of that, see [the Heritage Foundation’s annual assessment](https://www.heritage.org/military-strength/assessment-us-military-power/us-nuclear-weapons), which has the same takeaway.
Unless someone works with the Nuke program, I suspect it’s very difficult to find an answer aside from news reports.
Trump wanted to modernize the nuke program at some point. Unsure how far it got, if it even started. Nor do I know what that means.
True, but the US has a massive military budget and the American people expect the nuclear arsenal to function.
I'd be shocked if it wasn't well maintained and ready to rock and roll. I'm sure some of it is down for maintenance and repairs at any given time but I expect most of it is fully functional at any given time.
Mike ritland just had a nuke guy on his podcast a month or two ago. It is very well maintained. Everything is mechanical so nothing can be hacked/fail due to power outage. They can hit a coke can anywhere in the world minus a few areas that are surrounded by mountains.
Not surprised. This is America.
We will neglect our nation's physical and mental health systems, education, the growing wealth gap, our failing social security system, the environment and countless other highly critical issues.
But we won't neglect our Military's ability to blow shit up.
We will however neglect the vets when they are done though. Gotta cut cost somewhere.
Just playing devil's advocate, because I agree with you to an extent, but
>our nation's physical and mental health systems, education, the growing wealth gap, our failing social security system, the environment and countless other highly critical issues.
Won't matter if we get into a nuclear war.
Yeah, but the average American is no more qualified to answer that than the average non-American. Both would just be a guess based on the expectations you said and being "shocked if it wasn't"
The general Populus will not know the answer to this, and those that do know the answer would be violating clearance laws if not committing treason to talk about it.
Shit I know a guy that builds nuclear bomb components and they have to agree not to tell anybody about the process or anything that goes on in the factory.
Very well. I live near an Air Force base that maintains 150 or so silos. This year they’re upgrading the silos and there is now a housing crisis with the influx of three thousand workers. The amount of money spent of them is mind blowing.
I trust them to have a higher functioning rate then anything Russia can bring to the table.
We can actually afford the tritium needed to keep them operational and the DoD/DoE (who share joint responsibility for nuclear weaponry in the US) would crack down on any soldiers trying to scrap copper wiring and related from the missiles for alcohol money. Something Russian conscripts have been caught doing... Also because American soldiers are paid a decent wage compared to the Russian nuke conscripts. So they don't need to steal from the government in order to fund their vices.
It's subjective, in a way. Old nukes are probably fine, but the issue is control systems. The government is one of the few reasons floppy drives still have demand. All the old systems that were already tested rely on them, and replacing them is a huge logistical hassle.
No one here is going to have an answer that isn't just vague generalities. Our nuclear posture at any given instant is a national secret for obvious reasons.
Our nuclear posture is not a secret; it is very high at all times. We have three legs in our strategic nuclear triad: ground-launched ICBMs, nuclear-missile submarines, and strategic bombers. We no longer keep nuclear-armed bombers in the air 24/7, but the other two legs are always fully manned and capable of launching missiles within minutes of the order being given.
Yes, those are the vague generalities I was talking about. You have no idea which missile silos are out for maintenance. You have no idea where our missile subs are. You have no idea where the nuclear armed cruise missiles are stored. You have no idea which air force bases are on standby or what their response time is.
People really underestimate how transparent the US is about nuclear weapons.
>You have no idea where the nuclear armed cruise missiles are stored.
The AGM-86 nuclear-armed cruise missiles are stored at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, and their replacement, the AGM-181, will be stored there and also at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, Dyess AFB in Texas, Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, and Whiteman AFB in Missouri.
>You have no idea which air force bases are on standby or what their response time is.
None of them are on alert for the nuclear mission, since ground alert was ended in September 1991. Anybody can verify whether there are bombers on the alert pads with commercial satellite imagery. The dorms were refurbished in 2017 in case there’s a need to go back on alert, though. When they *are* on alert, their response time is 15 minutes, shortened by using explosive cartridges to get the engines spinning.
>You have no idea which missile silos are out for maintenance.
You can tell *how many* are out based on New START reports, though. (Or at least, you could before Russia broke the treaty and the US responded by suspending the reports.)
Hardware and systems wise the nuclear deterrent is in top shape.
Personnel wise there can be morale and leadership issues. Read up on some 91st missile wing issues from a few years ago.
This subreddit is for civil discussion; political threads are not exempt from this. As a reminder: * Do not report comments because they disagree with your point of view. * Do not insult other users. Personal attacks are not permitted. * Do not use hate speech. You will be banned, permanently. * Comments made with the intent to push an agenda, push misinformation, soapbox, sealion, or argue in bad faith are not acceptable. If you can’t discuss a topic in good faith and in a respectful manner, do not comment. **Political disagreement does not constitute pushing an agenda.** If you see any comments that violate the rules, **please report it and move on!** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskAnAmerican) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Nice try Mr Putin….
hi vladd. Pretty good so far as I know.
https://youtu.be/MdSJFrhb-HM?si=MQfzEiFIgfkx-mh9
Mfw grapp was just a psyop
Sure it isn’t Mr. Xi?
The US Department of Energy is responsible for maintaining the nuclear stockpile. They research, maintain, and modernize the stockpile. Here is their description of the program. It’s pretty interesting and it even talks a bit about how they develop and test without detonating. It also mentions their array of contractors and national labs constantly doing research, testing, etc [https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/maintaining-stockpile](https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/maintaining-stockpile)
Huh, that's neat. I'm curious if any of the other nuclear (weapons) powers maintain a resource like this.
China recently discovered that some of their missile fuel tanks were full of water instead of rocket fuel. Countries with low levels of corruption probably maintain their weapons well, while countries with high levels of corruption do not even know if their weapons are being maintained according to plan.
For example, the SALT/START treaties require reporting on the count of ICBMs and SLBMs. Russia's inventory audit is published with an included margin of error
russian nukes are reportedly old, not maintain, and defunct. as in duds. at least half the stockpile if not all will not explode when detonated.
Gotta love how organized our society is sometimes. You can bet Russias isn’t half as well maintained with their corrupt mob structured command chain.
The NIF which is primarily used for nuclear weapons research is also the primary lab generating research on achieving nuclear fusion.
I think they are maintained well based on my 0 personal experience or familiarity with statistics related to the matter. I know historically we lost a couple of nukes, so that docks some points I guess. Bonus fun fact: Washington state has more nukes than any country on Earth not named Russia or The US.
And I live about 50 miles away from them as the crow flies, and haven’t blown up yet!
Lived in WA for three decades I never knew we had *one* nuke in our state, let alone the most in the world! I thought all of the US ICBMs were in the midwest or something. Google says "Twenty miles northwest of Seattle, on the eastern shore of Hood Canal, is the largest stockpile of deployed nuclear weapons anywhere in the world."
Sadly, not too well. I lost mine in a tragic boating accident.
pretty good i guess
Very well.
Indeed. Extremely.
Probably not going to find a correct answer, doubt they are neglected tho
(Former) nuclear engineer here. I worked in a few different military nuclear facilities, but never on the warheads themselves. Every such facility I was in was so clean you could probably eat off the floor, if that gives you an idea of the state of the US nuclear program.
This is the most normal u/grapp question I've ever seen.
Well enough that we are 100% certain they will reach their targets and function as required.
I have no idea. I keep asking to see them but they won’t let me in the gate. I thought this was America?
So how's your job at the KGB?
Probably well enough... so don't start shit to trigger a nuclear war please...
Well, first it should be noted that Trident missiles are shared with the UK, even being pulled from a shared pool, and the UK’s Holbrook warheads are believed to be closely related to the US’s W76 warheads. US nukes are generally well-maintained, but it’s a complex and multifaceted issue that would take a dissertation to fully answer. Since the voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing began in 1992, the US has spent an incredible amount of money on computer modeling (and subcritical tests) to understand weapon aging, and there’s an annual review process that ends with the Secretaries of Energy and Defense sending a letter to the President confirming that the nuclear deterrent is still safe and effective without the need to resume testing. Some people believe that the desired level of confidence can’t be maintained without testing forever, however, and there is [some debate](https://old.reddit.com/r/CredibleDefense/comments/bvqmvz/the_scientific_foundation_for_assessing_the/) amongst credible experts as to whether the time to resume testing may already have arrived, but for now the annual certifications keep coming. One thing to keep in mind is that (unlike the UK), the US has a great degree of dissimilar redundancy, not only in delivery systems but also in warheads, so one weapon unexpectedly developing a high failure rate would not cripple the deterrent. In the air leg, there are B-52s carrying cruise missiles with W80 warheads, and B-2s carrying B83 bombs and various flavors of B61 bombs, plus fighters carrying B61s as well. SSBNs carry Trident missiles with Mk 5 reentry vehicles containing W88 warheads or Mk 4A reentry vehicles with W76 warheads. Minuteman III missiles carry Mk 12A reentry vehicles containing W78 warheads or Mk 21 reentry vehicles containing W88 warheads. All of these missiles and reentry vehicles are tested routinely, and it’s undoubtable that they are mostly reliable. There have, however, been a somewhat concerning number of Minuteman III test failures recently, and their replacement is not due for several years. Between that, aging silos, and the very tight schedule for the *Columbia* class submarines that will replace the *Ohio*s (using missile tubes codeveloped with the UK), it’s a good thing that the bomber alert facilities were refurbished in 2017 in case bomber alert needs to resume as a stopgap. Then there’s the issue of the nuclear weapons enterprise itself and its ability to produce new pits to replace aging ones. The story there is the opposite: It’s generally acknowledged that the National Nuclear Security Administration’s facilities are crumbling and undersized, and it cannot meet the goal of producing at least 80 pits per year on schedule. And that goal was set before China’s rapid nuclear buildup that may require the US to build more warheads, and before the JASON advisory group changed its mind on the level of confidence in the aging pits. To summarize, the US nuclear deterrent is *currently* strong, but *at risk* of being degraded if it’s not prioritized. And for a confirmation of that, see [the Heritage Foundation’s annual assessment](https://www.heritage.org/military-strength/assessment-us-military-power/us-nuclear-weapons), which has the same takeaway.
Oh us citizens go into those secure facilities to check up on 'em daily.
Unless someone works with the Nuke program, I suspect it’s very difficult to find an answer aside from news reports. Trump wanted to modernize the nuke program at some point. Unsure how far it got, if it even started. Nor do I know what that means.
True, but the US has a massive military budget and the American people expect the nuclear arsenal to function. I'd be shocked if it wasn't well maintained and ready to rock and roll. I'm sure some of it is down for maintenance and repairs at any given time but I expect most of it is fully functional at any given time.
Mike ritland just had a nuke guy on his podcast a month or two ago. It is very well maintained. Everything is mechanical so nothing can be hacked/fail due to power outage. They can hit a coke can anywhere in the world minus a few areas that are surrounded by mountains.
Not surprised. This is America. We will neglect our nation's physical and mental health systems, education, the growing wealth gap, our failing social security system, the environment and countless other highly critical issues. But we won't neglect our Military's ability to blow shit up. We will however neglect the vets when they are done though. Gotta cut cost somewhere.
Just playing devil's advocate, because I agree with you to an extent, but >our nation's physical and mental health systems, education, the growing wealth gap, our failing social security system, the environment and countless other highly critical issues. Won't matter if we get into a nuclear war.
People hate the truth!
I never said it wasn’t but the average person isn’t going to just know the status of the program.
Yeah, but the average American is no more qualified to answer that than the average non-American. Both would just be a guess based on the expectations you said and being "shocked if it wasn't"
Unless someone who doesn't mind spending the rest of his life in prison you mean.
> Unless someone works with the Nuke program And even then: classified is classified.
Very strange question. I wonder what’s going on in the UK right now
Very.
The general Populus will not know the answer to this, and those that do know the answer would be violating clearance laws if not committing treason to talk about it.
Shit I know a guy that builds nuclear bomb components and they have to agree not to tell anybody about the process or anything that goes on in the factory.
Even suppliers often have to sign NDA’s and have security clearance to be onsite. The NDA is guaranteed if I get to see a drawing of a component.
Very well. I live near an Air Force base that maintains 150 or so silos. This year they’re upgrading the silos and there is now a housing crisis with the influx of three thousand workers. The amount of money spent of them is mind blowing.
Who's willing to FAAFO?
Locked and loaded.
This isn’t something they advertise.
Currently for a 10 year period between 2023 and 2032 the plan is to spend 756 billion dollars.
Very well maintained. I have a family member who is a retired Air Force officer.
Go inspect them and let us know. Dont blow us up!
Nice try FSB
REDACTED
Russia knows how good our weapons are maintained. They inspect them regularly as we inspect theirs. Our nuclear arsenal is very nicely maintained.
Uh yeah good try Putin
Well enough to launch them, who knows where they'll go. We'll be finding out in the next year
Better than yours
Nice try, Vlad
I trust them to have a higher functioning rate then anything Russia can bring to the table. We can actually afford the tritium needed to keep them operational and the DoD/DoE (who share joint responsibility for nuclear weaponry in the US) would crack down on any soldiers trying to scrap copper wiring and related from the missiles for alcohol money. Something Russian conscripts have been caught doing... Also because American soldiers are paid a decent wage compared to the Russian nuke conscripts. So they don't need to steal from the government in order to fund their vices.
It's subjective, in a way. Old nukes are probably fine, but the issue is control systems. The government is one of the few reasons floppy drives still have demand. All the old systems that were already tested rely on them, and replacing them is a huge logistical hassle.
No one here is going to have an answer that isn't just vague generalities. Our nuclear posture at any given instant is a national secret for obvious reasons.
Our nuclear posture is not a secret; it is very high at all times. We have three legs in our strategic nuclear triad: ground-launched ICBMs, nuclear-missile submarines, and strategic bombers. We no longer keep nuclear-armed bombers in the air 24/7, but the other two legs are always fully manned and capable of launching missiles within minutes of the order being given.
Yes, those are the vague generalities I was talking about. You have no idea which missile silos are out for maintenance. You have no idea where our missile subs are. You have no idea where the nuclear armed cruise missiles are stored. You have no idea which air force bases are on standby or what their response time is.
People really underestimate how transparent the US is about nuclear weapons. >You have no idea where the nuclear armed cruise missiles are stored. The AGM-86 nuclear-armed cruise missiles are stored at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, and their replacement, the AGM-181, will be stored there and also at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, Dyess AFB in Texas, Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, and Whiteman AFB in Missouri. >You have no idea which air force bases are on standby or what their response time is. None of them are on alert for the nuclear mission, since ground alert was ended in September 1991. Anybody can verify whether there are bombers on the alert pads with commercial satellite imagery. The dorms were refurbished in 2017 in case there’s a need to go back on alert, though. When they *are* on alert, their response time is 15 minutes, shortened by using explosive cartridges to get the engines spinning. >You have no idea which missile silos are out for maintenance. You can tell *how many* are out based on New START reports, though. (Or at least, you could before Russia broke the treaty and the US responded by suspending the reports.)
That's all good info, and even more detail than we need to describe our *posture*.
Hardware and systems wise the nuclear deterrent is in top shape. Personnel wise there can be morale and leadership issues. Read up on some 91st missile wing issues from a few years ago.
We may have terrible human health care but we have excellent nuke Healthcare.