On October 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) verified completion of the First Production Unit (FPU) of a plutonium pit for the W87-1 Modification Program. A plutonium pit is a necessary component in America's nuclear warheads.
NNSA is currently rebuilding the capability to manufacture plutonium pits, at the rate of no fewer than 80 pits per year. During the Cold War, the United States could manufacture hundreds of pits per year. Pit production ceased in 1989, and NNSA continues to recapitalize production capabilities that atrophied in the post-Cold War era across the Nuclear Security Enterprise.
Achieving FPU of the W87-1 pit is an important milestone for the United States' nuclear weapon stockpile modernization. The W87-1 warhead supports the Department of Defense's Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), which will be part of the land-based leg of the nation's nuclear deterrent and replaces the Minuteman III ICBMs.
This first fully qualified plutonium pit for the W87-1 nuclear warhead was "diamond stamped" after meeting all requirements, signifying its readiness for deployment to the U.S. nuclear stockpile at "war reserve" quality. Experts from across the Enterprise, including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC), and the Nevada National Security Site worked in close collaboration with NNSA over eight years to develop and mature qualification, certification, and product acceptance processes required to manufacture this FPU pit. Plutonium pit manufacturing was completed at LANL, with Livermore Laboratory responsible for the pit design and KCNSC responsible for production of non-nuclear components.
"This complex effort executed by our mission partners represents an important step on our path to restoring and modernizing NNSA's capability to produce plutonium pits at the quantities needed to support military requirements set by the Department of Defense," said Dr. Marvin Adams, Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs.
Consistent plutonium pit production and robust experimental capabilities to study plutonium properties are vital to the nuclear stockpile. Activities to reach the target capacity of 30 pits per year at LANL continue, and equipment installation and other facility improvements will provide an increasingly dependable production capability. The Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site will attain the capacity to make at least 50 pits per year in the mid-2030s.
NNSA continues to restore and modernize the full suite of production manufacturing capabilities necessary to develop a more resilient Enterprise to meet evolving nuclear deterrence objectives.
