More evidence there's Something new on board...

...making nuclear missiles obsolete:

U.S. Declares Massive HEU Elimination Over Decades

By David Ruppe
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — The United States is planning to eliminate 200 metric tons of highly enriched uranium from its nuclear weapons stockpile, converting most of it into fuel for the U.S. Navy, a senior government official said yesterday (see GSN, April 5).

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said the material would be freed up as a result of a Bush administration decision in May to cut the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal, unofficially estimated at about 10,000 warheads, by nearly half.

“That decision enables us to dispose of a significant amount of weapons-grade nuclear material,” he said here during the Carnegie International Nonproliferation Conference.

The 200 metric tons of highly enriched uranium is the equivalent of 8,000 nuclear warheads, he said. There was no immediate explanation for how the administration would obtain that much material as it does not appear to be eliminating that 8,000 warheads.

Bodman said 160 metric tons of the uranium would be put to use in powering U.S. Navy nuclear ships and submarines...

Mentioned here yesterday: a new laser weapon system to be installed for field testing in a 747 this year that can burn a basketball sized whole through steel plating hundreds of miles away.


Which ought to be enough theoretically to make missiles obsolete. Which is a good thing, especially if everybody builds these kinds of lasers. Just letting other nations know we have them will be enough to get everybody started. A single contemporary tactical nuke could do things to a city most people can't imagine.

The total elimination of nuclear weapons may not ever happen, but every one we get rid of improves the long term chances for Civilization on this planet.