
The Defense Department plans to use the proposed Mk 7 W93 submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missile (SLBM) warhead to eventually replace the current W76 and W88 warheads without increasing the size of the nuclear stockpile, according to a Department of Defense senior official. The U.S. currently uses the W76 and W88 families of warheads on the Trident II D5 SLBMs based on Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines. “Both of these systems are growing old and so now we must start thinking about…