Warhead

A B61 nuclear bomb in various stages of assembly; the nuclear warhead is the bullet-shaped silver canister in the middle-left of the photograph.

The term warhead refers to the explosive and/or toxic material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo.

Classification

Types of warheads include:

• Explosive: An explosive charge is used to disintegrate the target, and damage surrounding areas with a blast wave.
  • Conventional: Chemicals such as gunpowder and high explosives store significant energy within their molecular bonds. This energy can be released quickly by a trigger, such as an electric spark. Thermobaric weapons enhance the blast effect by utilizing the surrounding atmosphere in their explosive reactions.
    • Blast: A strong shock wave is provided by the detonation of the explosive.
    • Fragmentation: Metal fragments are projected at high velocity to cause damage or injury.
    • Continuous rod: Metal bars welded on their ends form a compact cylinder of interconnected rods, which is violently expanded into a contiguous zig-zag-shaped ring by an explosive detonation. The rapidly expanding ring produces a planar cutting effect that is devastating against military aircraft, which may be designed to be resistant to shrapnel.
    • Shaped charge: The effect of the explosive charge is focused onto a specially shaped metal liner to project a hypervelocity jet of metal, to perforate heavy armour.
      • Explosively formed penetrator: Instead of turning a thin metal liner into a focused jet, the detonation wave is directed against a concave metal plate at the front of the warhead, propelling it at high velocity while simultaneously deforming it into a projectile.
  • Nuclear: A runaway nuclear fission (fission bomb) or nuclear fusion (Thermonuclear weapon) reaction causes immense energy release.
• Chemical: A toxic chemical, such as poison gas or nerve gas, is dispersed, which is designed to injure or kill human beings.
• Biological: An infectious agent, such as anthrax spores, is dispersed, which is designed to sicken or kill humans.

Often, a biological or chemical warhead will use an explosive charge for rapid dispersal.

Detonators

Type of detonators include

See also

• Guidance system
• List of aircraft weapons
• List of missiles
• Nuclear weapon yield
• Missile

References

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1. The Nuclear Weapon Archive. The B61 (Mk-61) Bomb - Intermediate yield strategic and tactical thermonuclear bomb. [1]
2. GlobalSecurity.org The B61 thermonuclear bomb. [2]
3. The Brookings Institution. B61 Nuclear Gravity Bomb. [3]
4. Stephen I. Schwartz. Atomic Audit - The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940. Brookings Institution Press 1998 c. 700pp. [4]
5. Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill AFB, Utah. B61 THERMONUCLEAR BOMB. [5]
6. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). NNSA Achieves Significant Milestone for B61 Bomb. June 30, 2006. [6]
7. Chuck Hansen, U.S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History, (New York: Orion Books, 1988), pp. 162–164.