U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project

This project was completed in August 1998 and resulted in the book Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940 edited by Stephen I. Schwartz. These project pages are only occassionally updated and should be considered historical.

Pershing II Missile Test Launch



A Pershing II ED-4 single-stage test missile lifts off from McGregor Range, Fort Bliss, Texas, March 13, 1983


One hundred and twenty Pershing II missiles were deployed at three operating bases in Germany beginning in 1983. The Pershing II, a two-stage, medium-range, solid-fueled missile, carried the W85 warhead, which had a yield of 0.3 to 80 kilotons. As a result of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, all these missiles were withdrawn and destroyed by May 1991. The W85 warheads, however, were not subject to destruction under the treaty and were reconfigured into the B61-10 gravity bomb and redeployed to Europe.

Credit: U.S. Army (courtesy Natural Resources Defense Council)