October 2012

U.S.-Nuclear Weapons Surety 1990/91 and the Bush PNI in 1991 – A Comparison

by Otfried Nassauer

When President George H.W. Bush announced his Presidential Nuclear Iniative reducing the number of European deployed nuclear weapons by several thousands, he decided at the same time to eliminate most of the nuclear weapons having received a lower surety rating in internal DoD, DoE and scientific reports. However, only one of the types of weapons remaining in service, the B83, received the highest surety rating. The coloured rows in the table below show the weapon types removed by the Presidential Nuclear Initiative and eliminated in accordance with the 1987 INF-Treaty.

Remarkably no nuclear weapon based off CONUS in 1989 (date of the source) was to kept on permanent alert. European based weapons including Pershing II missiles or fighter bombers with nuclear bombs could only be placed on alert.

Weapon	type	since	Kidder surety rating	De- ployed	PAL CAT	HE FRP	alert	PNI / INF	Remarks**
B-28-0,1	s-bomb	1983*	C-	US	D	HE			Off alert in 1990 Retired by 1993
W33	203mm	1956	n.a.	O	CL	None	P	PNI
B43	t-bomb	1961*	D	S	B	HE	A	PNI	Retired by 1991
W48	155mm	1963*	D	O	CL	HE	P	PNI
W50	PI A	1963*	D	O	A	HE	A3	INF, PNI	Retired by 1991
B53-1	s-bomb	1988*	C-	US	None	HE	O		Retired by 1994
W56-4	MM-II	1968	C+	US	None	HE	O
B57-1	n-bomb	1963*	D	S	None	HE	A	PNI	Retired by 1998.
B57-2	n-bomb	1963	D	S, O	B	HE	A	PNI	Retired by 1999
B61-0	t-bomb	1968*	D	O	B	HE	A	PNI	Retired by 1993
B61-2	t-bomb	1976*	D	O,S	D	HE	A	PNI	Retired by 1994
B61-3	t-bomb	1980	B	O	F	IHE	A
B61-4	t-bomb	1980	B	O	F	IHE	A
B61-5	t-bomb	1977*	C	O	D	HE	A	PNI	Retired by 1998
B61-7	s-bomb	1986	B	US	D	IHE	O
B61-10	t-bomb	1990	B		F	IHE
W62	MM-III	1970*	D	US	None	HE	O
W68	SLBM	1970*	D	S	None	HE	O		Retired by 1996
W69	SRAM-A	1972*	D	US	None	HE	O	PNI	Retired by.1998
W70-1,2	Lance	1973	D	O	D	HE	P	PNI	Retired by 1998.
W70-3	Lance	1981	D	US	D	HE	P	PNI	Retired by 1999
W71	ABM	1975*	D	US	None	HE	P		Retired by 1991
W76	SLBM	1979	C	S	None	HE	O
W78	MM-III	1980	C	US	None	HE	O
W79	155mm	1980	C+	O	D	HE	P	PNI
W-80	SLCM	1984	B	S	D	IHE	A	PNI
W80-1	ALCM	1982	B	US	D	IHE	O
B83	s-bomb	1983	A	US	D	IHE/ FRP	O
W84	GLCM	1983	A	O	F	IHE/ FRP	A	INF, PNI	Retired by 1991
W85	P-II	1983*	B	O	F	IHE	A	INF, PNI	Retired by 1991
W87	MX	1986	A	US	None	IHE/ FRP	O
W88	SLBM	1990	C	S	None	HE	A

Additional information: During 1989 retirements of the B-28FI, W-31, W44 and B54 were completed

Type	S: strategic	T: Tactical	N: Naval
Rating:	A: mit EEI,IHE,FRP C-:no full EEI	B:EEI, IHE D: None	C:EEI
“where deployed:	O: off CONUS	S: ship	US: USA
„Alert“	O: on alert	A: allowed	P: prohibited
NA: not applicable	*: retired, retiring	** to be retired by until (according to FY89-94 NWSM Ch3 i.e. before PNI)

Main Sources: DoD/DoE: Nuclear Weapons Surety, Annual Report to the President 1989, formerly SECRET, Washington DC, 1990, Tables 1 and 2,
Kidder, R.E.: Report to Congress: Assessment of the Safety of U.S.Nuclear Weapons and Related Nuclear Test Requirements, LLNL, 26.7.1991, p.4

ist freier Journalist und leitet das Berliner Informationszentrum für Transatlantische Sicherheit - BITS