W45 (nuclear warhead)

Internal components of the Medium Atomic Demolition Munition setup. W45 warhead is to the right of the casing.

The W45 was a multipurpose American nuclear warhead developed in the early 1960s, first built in 1962 and fielded in some applications until 1988. It had a diameter of 11.5 inches, a length of 27 inches and weighed 150 pounds. The yield of the W45 ranged from 0.5 to 15 kilotons. The W45 was designed at the Livermore branch of the University of California Radiation Laboratory (UCRL), now Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Applications of the W45 warhead included:

• Little John SSM
• Terrier SAM
• Medium Atomic Demolition Munition or MADM
• Bullpup ASM

See also

• List of nuclear weapons
• RIM-2 Terrier
• Medium Atomic Demolition Munition
• AGM-12 Bullpup

External links

• Allbombs.html list of all US nuclear warheads at nuclearweaponarchive.org