Hacker News with Generative AI: Nuclear Weapons

Minuteman III test showcases readiness of U.S. nuclear force's deterrent (stratcom.mil)
A joint team of Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a single telemetered joint test assembly re-entry vehicle Feb. 19 at 1 a.m. Pacific Time from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
Military, Nuclear Weapons, United States, Deterrence
55 points by ChrisArchitect 2 days ago | 109 comments
Managers given 200 characters to justify not firing nuclear regulators (npr.org)
Scenes of confusion and chaos unfolded over the last two days at the civilian agency that oversees the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile, as the Trump administration's mass firings were carried out before being "paused" on Friday.
Politics, Nuclear Weapons, Trump Administration
146 points by seo-speedwagon 4 days ago | 165 comments
Dismissed nuclear bomb specialists recalled by Energy Department (fortune.com)
Nuclear Weapons, Government, Energy, Security
12 points by an_guy 5 days ago | 0 comments
Trump officials fired nuclear staff not realizing they oversee US nuclear arms (cnn.com)
Politics, Nuclear Weapons, United States
66 points by sklargh 7 days ago | 13 comments
The Hell Bomb by William L. Laurence (1951) (gutenberg.org)
Nuclear Weapons, History, Books
3 points by petethomas 23 days ago | 0 comments
Nuclear Proliferation and the "Nth Country Experiment" (nsarchive.gwu.edu)
Washington, D.C., January 23, 2025 - Today, the National Security Archive publishes newly declassified information on a secret mid-1960s project in which a handful of young physicists at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory produced a design for a “credible nuclear weapon” based only on unclassified, open-source information and in just three years.
Nuclear Weapons, Cold War, History, Science, Research
39 points by nabla9 28 days ago | 8 comments
The U.S. Government Just Declassified Cold War-Era Docs About DIY Nukes (gizmodo.com)
The National Security Archive has published recently declassified documents related to the “Nth Country Project,” a Cold War era experiment involving a DIY nuclear weapons project.
Cold War, Government, Nuclear Weapons, History, Declassification
7 points by rntn 28 days ago | 0 comments
Yakuza Leader Pleads Guilty to Nuclear Materials Trafficking and Weapons Charges (justice.gov)
Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, of Japan, pleaded guilty in Manhattan, New York, today to conspiring with a network of associates to traffic nuclear materials, including uranium and weapons-grade plutonium, from Burma to other countries, as well as to international narcotics trafficking and weapons charges.
Nuclear Weapons, International Crime, Japan, Organized Crime, International Relations
8 points by impish9208 43 days ago | 0 comments
Jimmy Carter helped avert nuclear disaster near Canada's capital (cbc.ca)
Jimmy Carter, Nuclear Weapons, Canada, History, Politics
12 points by fluorine 54 days ago | 0 comments
W54 (wikipedia.org)
The W54 (also known as the Mark 54 or B54) was a tactical nuclear warhead developed by the United States in the late 1950s.
Nuclear Weapons, Military History, Cold War
46 points by thunderbong 65 days ago | 33 comments
Nuclear bunker sales increase, despite warnings they won't provide protection (npr.org)
Global security leaders are warning nuclear threats are growing as weapons spending surged to $91.4 billion last year. At the same time, private bunker sales are on the rise globally, from small metal boxes to crawl inside of to extravagant underground mansions.
Nuclear Weapons, Security, Business, News
15 points by belter 65 days ago | 31 comments
Atoms for Peace: Learning to Love the Bomb (historytoday.com)
In 1969, North Yorkshire was unknowingly under siege. The market towns of Pickering and Whitby faced a looming existential threat: a nuclear bomb.
Nuclear Weapons, History, Cold War
19 points by Hooke 77 days ago | 10 comments
Vasily Arkhipov (wikipedia.org)
Vasily Aleksandrovich Arkhipov (Russian: Василий Александрович Архипов, IPA: [vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ arˈxʲipəf], 30 January 1926 – 19 August 1998) was a senior Soviet Naval officer who prevented a Russian submarine from launching a nuclear torpedo against ships of the United States Navy at a crucial moment in the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962.
Cold War, History, Military, Nuclear Weapons, Russia
3 points by tempestn 81 days ago | 0 comments
Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine portends new era of warfare (arstechnica.com)
Two days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a change in the country's policy for employing nuclear weapons in conflict. Then, on Thursday, Russia attacked the Ukrainian city of Dnipro with a new type of ballistic missile capable of one day delivering multiple nuclear warheads to distant targets with little warning.
Russia, War, Military Technology, Nuclear Weapons, Ukraine
10 points by burnt-resistor 91 days ago | 3 comments
DoD Adjusts Nuclear Deterrence Strategy as Nuclear Peer Adversaries Escalate (defense.gov)
Multiple nuclear peer adversaries challenge the U.S. and its allies' and partners' security, according to the Defense Department.
Nuclear Weapons, Military Strategy, International Relations, Geopolitics
13 points by ironyman 91 days ago | 17 comments
First Ever Recorded Use of ICBM in War (funker530.com)
War, Military, History, Nuclear Weapons
12 points by seanw444 92 days ago | 17 comments
The meme-ification of the “Demon Core” (doomsdaymachines.net)
On May 21, 1946, the Canadian physicist Louis Slotin was demonstrating to several other Los Alamos scientists how to do a criticality experiment.
Physics, History, Nuclear Weapons
400 points by SaberTail 93 days ago | 288 comments
Zelensky's nuclear option: Ukraine 'months away' from bomb (thetimes.com)
Ukraine, Nuclear Weapons, War, International Relations, Politics
14 points by wslh 100 days ago | 22 comments
An unearthly spectacle – The untold story of the biggest nuclear bomb (2021) (thebulletin.org)
In the early hours of October 30, 1961, a bomber took off from an airstrip in northern Russia and began its flight through cloudy skies over the frigid Arctic island of Novaya Zemlya. Slung below the plane’s belly was a nuclear bomb the size of a small school bus—the largest and most powerful bomb ever created.
Nuclear Weapons, History, Russia, Cold War
92 points by arethuza 100 days ago | 154 comments
The Great American Nuclear Weapons Upgrade (undark.org)
In the plains of western South Dakota, about 25 miles northeast of Mount Rushmore, the Ellsworth Air Force Base is preparing to receive the first fleet of B-21 nuclear bombers, replacing Cold War-era planes.
Military, Nuclear Weapons, Technology, Politics, United States
7 points by EA-3167 109 days ago | 0 comments
America Is Updating Its Nuclear Weapons. The Price: $1.7T (nytimes.com)
The U.S. military says America’s nuclear arsenal is outdated and unable to keep up with our adversaries’ modern weapons.
Military, Nuclear Weapons, Politics, United States
20 points by tysone 130 days ago | 0 comments
Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 awarded to Nihon Hidankyo (nobelprize.org)
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo. This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is receiving the Peace Prize for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.
Nobel Prize, Peace, Nuclear Weapons, Japan, Activism
290 points by danielskogly 133 days ago | 357 comments
America Is Updating Its Nuclear Weapons. The Price: $1.7T (nytimes.com)
The U.S. military says America’s nuclear arsenal is outdated and unable to keep up with our adversaries’ modern weapons.
Military, Nuclear Weapons, Politics, United States
11 points by sherilm 134 days ago | 25 comments
First Plutonium Pit for Nuclear Warhead Produced in the US in 35 Years Now Ready (twz.com)
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has announced the completion of the first weapon-ready example of a vital component for the W87-1 warhead.
Nuclear Weapons, Weapons Technology, National Security, United States
12 points by peutetre 140 days ago | 2 comments
How to Disable a Nuclear Warhead in Midflight (ieee.org)
In 1956 Henry Kissinger speculated in Foreign Affairs about how the nuclear stalemate between the United States and the Soviet Union could force national security officials into a terrible dilemma.
Nuclear Weapons, International Relations, History
32 points by cyberlimerence 145 days ago | 10 comments
Putin outlines new rules for Russian use of nuclear arsenal (aljazeera.com)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia could respond with nuclear weapons if it were attacked with conventional arms in the latest changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine.
Nuclear Weapons, Russia, Politics, International Relations, War
6 points by donsupreme 147 days ago | 0 comments
New Chinese nuclear attack submarine sank, U.S. officials says (cbsnews.com)
Satellite imagery showed that China's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank alongside a pier while under construction, a U.S. military official confirmed to CBS News on Thursday.
Military, China, Nuclear Weapons, Submarine, Accidents
18 points by howard941 147 days ago | 0 comments
China's newest nuclear submarine sank in dock, US officials confirm (theguardian.com)
China’s efforts to achieve maritime military parity with the US have suffered a serious blow after its newest state-of-the-art nuclear submarine sank in a dock, American officials have confirmed.
China, Military, Submarines, Nuclear Weapons, International Relations
27 points by geox 148 days ago | 11 comments
Blast wakes ghosts of nuclear past (1995) (newscientist.com)
Nuclear Weapons, History, Accidents
13 points by r721 152 days ago | 1 comments
Alarm in UK and US over possible Iran-Russia nuclear deal (theguardian.com)
Britain and the US have raised fears that Russia has shared nuclear secrets with Iran in return for Tehran supplying Moscow with ballistic missiles to bomb Ukraine.
International Relations, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, Iran, Ukraine
7 points by xkcd1963 159 days ago | 5 comments