Recent Developments of U.S. Nuclear Weapon Environmental Testing Capabilities

KANG Tian; LI Minghai; SHI Xianjie

doi:10.7643/issn.1672-9242.2026.03.015

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Equipment Environmental Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 23 ›› Issue (3) : 137-147. DOI: 10.7643/issn.1672-9242.2026.03.015

Special Issue—Equipment Service Environment and Performance Testing

Recent Developments of U.S. Nuclear Weapon Environmental Testing Capabilities

KANG Tian, LI Minghai, SHI Xianjie

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Abstract

Driven by the strategic requirements of U.S. nuclear weapon development under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) environment, this work systematically investigates and analyzes the current environmental testing capabilities of the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex (NWC) to provide a reference for the advancement of domestic weapon environmental testing capabilities. Based on the classification of environmental factors within the life-cycle mission profile of U.S. nuclear weapons, the work categorizes key testing items, including mechanical, climatic, electromagnetic, and radiation tests, and outlines the layout of core facilities. Furthermore, it provides an in-depth analysis on the development trends in cutting-edge testing technologies, such as Direct Field Acoustic Testing (DFAT), multi-exciter vibration, six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) vibration, and combination of multi-environmental factors. The research indicates that U.S. nuclear weapon environmental testing technology is evolving toward high fidelity, multi-physics coupling, and deep synergy between "testing and simulation". These findings can offer valuable insights for achieving leapfrog development in weapon system environmental testing capabilities.

Key words

U.S. nuclear weapon / environmental test / test technologies / test facilities / fidelity / combination of multi-environmental factors

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KANG Tian, LI Minghai, SHI Xianjie. Recent Developments of U.S. Nuclear Weapon Environmental Testing Capabilities[J]. Equipment Environmental Engineering. 2026, 23(3): 137-147 https://doi.org/10.7643/issn.1672-9242.2026.03.015

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