2 ms·
I don't feel it's misleading; a nuclear weapon is much more than the warhead. Nuclear weapon delivery systems have been the most important part even since the
by romwell 5y ago
I don't feel it's misleading; a nuclear weapon is much more than the warhead.
Nuclear weapon delivery systems have been the most important part even since the first ever atomic bomb. The B-29 Superfortress that dropped the bombs on Japan cost about 1.5x as much as the Manhattan Project to develop[1].
Every discussion of arsenals I've seen focuses on delivery more than warheads [2][3].
Additionally, I can't speak for France, but in the US, the warheads are produced/refurbished in government-owned, privately managed and operated facilities. That's to say, the likes of Lockheed-Martin, Northtrop Grumman and Honeywell have all the operational knowledge and access, but technically Pantex is government-owned.
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-29_Superfortress
[2]https://sipri.org/sites/default/files/2021-06/yb21_10_wnf_210613.pdf https://sipri.org/sites/default/files/2021-06/yb21_10_wnf_21...
[3]https://programs.fas.org/ssp/nukes/publications1/Article2012_France.pdf https://programs.fas.org/ssp/nukes/publications1/Article2012...