W76-2

The W76-2 is a low-yield nuclear warhead developed by the United States National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) as a modification of the existing W76-1 thermonuclear warhead carried on Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). It was first proposed in the Trump administration's 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), produced beginning in January 2019 at the Pantex Plant in Texas, and deployed aboard the USS Tennessee (SSBN-734) in late 2019, a fact confirmed by the Pentagon in February 2020.

The warhead's exact yield is classified, but it is widely assessed by analysts—including Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists—to be roughly 5 to 7 kilotons, achieved by removing or disabling the secondary (thermonuclear) stage of the W76-1, leaving only the primary fission stage to detonate. This contrasts with the W76-1's ~90 kiloton yield.

The stated rationale was to counter perceived Russian reliance on low-yield nuclear weapons under a so-called "escalate to de-escalate" doctrine, and to close a perceived gap in U.S. sub-strategic options between high-yield strategic warheads and air-delivered B61 gravity bombs. Proponents argued it strengthens deterrence by giving the president a more "credible" response option short of large-scale nuclear use.

Critics—including former Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, several Democratic members of Congress, and arms-control organizations such as the Arms Control Association—argued the W76-2:

• Lowers the threshold for nuclear use by blurring the line between conventional and nuclear conflict;
• Creates discrimination problems, since an adversary detecting a Trident launch cannot distinguish a low-yield from a high-yield warhead;
• Is redundant, given existing B61 and air-launched cruise missile options.

The W76-2 does not add to the overall U.S. stockpile size; warheads were converted from existing W76-1 inventory and count under New START's 1,550 deployed strategic warhead limit.