12. Department of Energy and Related Commissions · Major · Needs Congress

Develop new warheads for each leg of the nuclear triad

Done

Printed page 399 12. Department of Energy and Related Commissions

“Continue to develop new warheads for each branch of the triad (land, sea, and air defenses).”

What has happened

Dec 18, 2025 Done
The ask is to *continue* developing a new warhead for each leg, and each leg's program is running and funded, so the ask is met while it continues. P.L. 119-60 (FY2026 NDAA) authorized the programs and accelerated the sea leg: §1633 requires a limited operational SLCM-N deployment by 2032-09-30 and initial operational capability by 2034-09-30; §1634 requires B-21 nuclear certification on a fixed timeline. The FY2026 Energy and Water act (2026-01-23) then appropriated $20.378 billion for Weapons Activities.
- P.L. 119-60 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (§1633 Matters relating to the nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile; §1634 B-21 nuclear certification)
  Primary Congress Dec 18, 2025
- P.L. 119-74 — FY2026 Energy and Water Development appropriations (Weapons Activities, $20,378,000,000)
  Primary Congress Jan 23, 2026
Jun 17, 2025 Partially done
The FY2026 Weapons Activities request continued every leg's new-warhead program: W87-1 (land, Sentinel ICBM) in Phase 6.3 development engineering; W93 (sea) moving to Phase 2a and the SLCM-N warhead (sea) to Phase 6.3; W80-4 (air, long-range standoff) and B61-13 (air). None has reached first production in the window — W87-1 warheads are expected 2031-32, W93 and SLCM-N in the early-to-mid 2030s.
- DOE FY 2026 Congressional Justification, Volume 1 — Weapons Activities (W87-1 Modification, W93, SLCM-N Warhead, W80-4 program lines)
  Primary Executive branch Jun 17, 2025

Research log

What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence

Research notes

All five programs predate the window (the FY2025 Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan of 2024-10-03 lists them). The ask is to “continue”; nothing was stopped, every leg stayed funded, and none has been fielded. Moved from partial to done on review, because “a ‘preserve’ or ‘continue’ ask is done while the thing continues”; it would become reversed if a leg’s program were canceled. First production is still years out — W87-1 in 2031-32, W93 and SLCM-N in the early-to-mid 2030s — which is why the first-production dates stay in the notes.
Same sources as #940; #940 owns the pit-production trail.

Action: create
Object: new nuclear warheads for the triad
ID: 1012