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.

W62/Mk 12 Re-entry Vehicle



Weapons designers examine a W62/Mk 12 re-entry vehicle


The W62 warhead has a yield of 170 kilotons. It was first deployed in 1970 and remains atop 200 Minuteman III missiles (3 re-entry vehicles per missile). The Mk 12 re-entry vehicle is 5.9 feet (1.8 meters) long.

Credit: Department of Energy (courtesy Natural Resources Defense Council)