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Title: Stockpile stewardship past, present, and future

Abstract

The U.S. National Academies released a report in 2012 on technical issues related to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. One important question addressed therein is whether the U.S. could maintain a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear-weapons stockpile in the absence of nuclear-explosion testing. Here we discuss two main conclusions from the 2012 Academies report, which we paraphrase as follows: 1) Provided that sufficient resources and a national commitment to stockpile stewardship are in place, the U.S. has the technical capabilities to maintain a safe, secure, and reliable stockpile of nuclear weapons into the foreseeable future without nuclear-explosion testing. 2) Doing this would require: a) a strong weapons science and engineering program that addresses gaps in understanding; b) an outstanding workforce that applies deep and broad weapons expertise to deliver solutions to stockpile problems; c) a vigorous, stable surveillance program that delivers the requisite data; d) production facilities that meet stewardship needs. We emphasize that these conclusions are independent of CTBT ratification-they apply provided only that the U.S. continues its nuclear-explosion moratorium.

Authors:
 [1]
  1. Institute for National Security Education and Research, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843-3133 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22280419
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
AIP Conference Proceedings
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 1596; Journal Issue: 1; Conference: Short course on nuclear weapon issues in the 21st century, Washington, DC (United States), 2-3 Nov 2013; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0094-243X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION; CTBT; MONITORING; NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS; NUCLEAR WEAPONS; ON-SITE INSPECTION; SECURITY; STOCKPILES; TESTING

Citation Formats

Adams, Marvin L., E-mail: mladams@tamu.edu. Stockpile stewardship past, present, and future. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4876461.
Adams, Marvin L., E-mail: mladams@tamu.edu. Stockpile stewardship past, present, and future. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4876461
Adams, Marvin L., E-mail: mladams@tamu.edu. 2014. "Stockpile stewardship past, present, and future". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4876461.
@article{osti_22280419,
title = {Stockpile stewardship past, present, and future},
author = {Adams, Marvin L., E-mail: mladams@tamu.edu},
abstractNote = {The U.S. National Academies released a report in 2012 on technical issues related to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. One important question addressed therein is whether the U.S. could maintain a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear-weapons stockpile in the absence of nuclear-explosion testing. Here we discuss two main conclusions from the 2012 Academies report, which we paraphrase as follows: 1) Provided that sufficient resources and a national commitment to stockpile stewardship are in place, the U.S. has the technical capabilities to maintain a safe, secure, and reliable stockpile of nuclear weapons into the foreseeable future without nuclear-explosion testing. 2) Doing this would require: a) a strong weapons science and engineering program that addresses gaps in understanding; b) an outstanding workforce that applies deep and broad weapons expertise to deliver solutions to stockpile problems; c) a vigorous, stable surveillance program that delivers the requisite data; d) production facilities that meet stewardship needs. We emphasize that these conclusions are independent of CTBT ratification-they apply provided only that the U.S. continues its nuclear-explosion moratorium.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4876461},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22280419}, journal = {AIP Conference Proceedings},
issn = {0094-243X},
number = 1,
volume = 1596,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri May 09 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Fri May 09 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}