W66 (nuclear warhead)

The W66 thermonuclear warhead was used on the Sprint anti-ballistic missile system, designed to be a short-range interceptor to shoot down incoming ICBM warheads.[1]

The W66 had a yield of 2 kilotonnes of TNT (8.4 TJ)[2] and was an enhanced radiation ("neutron") weapon. The W66 was 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter and 35 inches (89 cm) long, with a weight of approximately 150 pounds (68 kg).[3] The weapon was a two-stage design.[4]

The W66 was based on the Arrow warhead design and by December 1966 had undergone six nuclear tests.[5]

  1. ^ L C Harrison; W R Preeg; B B Rogers; JL Stokes; J R Lilley; M Henderson (July 1977). Output for the Sprint Warhead (Report). Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2022-06-20.
  2. ^ Minutes of National Security Council Meeting (Report). Parity, Safeguard, and the SS–9 Controversy. Washington DC. 1969-05-05. p. 54. Archived from the original on 2022-10-08. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  3. ^ Carey Sublette. "List of All U.S. Nuclear Weapons". Nuclear Weapon Archive. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  4. ^ Betty L Perkins (2003-11-03). Tracing the Origins of the W76: 1966-Spring 1973 (PDF) (Report). Los Alamos National Labs. p. V-18. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  5. ^ Robert McNamara (1966-12-02). Production and Deployment of the Nike-X (PDF) (Report). Secretary of Defense McNamara Memorandum for the President. p. 23. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-06-24.