W70

W70 nuclear warhead
TypeNuclear weapon
Place of originUnited States
Production history
DesignerLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
ProducedW71-1,-2 June 1973 to July 1977
W70-3 August 1981 to February 1983
No. builtW70-1,-2 900 produced
W70-3 380 produced.
Variants3
Specifications
Mass270 lb (120 kg)
Length41 inches (100 cm)
Diameter18 in (46 cm)

Blast yieldW70-1,-2 0.5 to 50 kilotonnes of TNT (2.1 to 209.2 TJ)
W70-3 1 kilotonne of TNT (4.2 TJ)

W70 was a two-stage, thermonuclear warhead that was developed for the MGM-52 Lance missile by the United States. Designed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Mod 1 and Mod 2 version of the weapon entered service in 1973, while the enhanced radiation ("neutron bomb") Mod 3 weapon entered service in 1981.[1] The last W70 warhead was dismantled in February 1996.[2]

  1. ^ Sandia Weapon Review: Nuclear Weapon Characteristics Handbook, p. 71.
  2. ^ "U.S. Nuclear Weapons Stockpile, July 1996". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 52 (4): 61–63. 1996. Bibcode:1996BuAtS..52d..61.. doi:10.1080/00963402.1996.11456646.