Fall 2004, Vol. 1, Issue 2

Cardwell observes weapon flight tests

Workers at the Tonopah Test Range remove a B61 Joint Test Assembly from the hole it created when dropped from a B-2 Stealth bomber (inset). Click image for larger view.

Ever see what a nuclear bomb might look like falling to the ground?

Carl Cardwell, DSW's Stockpile Surveillance manager, did just that when he observed B61 and B83 flight tests at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada during the week of July 12, 2004.

The B61 and B83 are the principal air-dropped nuclear bombs in the U.S. stockpile.

Cardwell was invited to attend by Los Alamos National Laboratory's B61 surveillance engineer, Lori Maestas. In the letter of invitation to Bill Reis, then the director of DSW, Maestas said, "...there is value in this opportunity ...to understand the environments that the weapon will encounter...."

To ensure the safety, security and reliability of the weapons in the stockpile, a comprehensive surveillance and component testing program is carried out, including complete performance testing—without detonation. Y‑12 produces components for flight test units as part of the surveillance and testing program.

Cardwell says, "Y‑12 support of Quality Evaluation and Surveillance helps NNSA maintain confidence in the stockpile. Flight tests provide proof of reliability and demonstrate the effectiveness of our weapon delivery systems. Components from the tests I observed will eventually return to Y‑12 for examination and analysis under the Surveillance Program."

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