Lesson plan
W76
The W76 is an American thermonuclear warhead, designed for use on the UGM-96 Trident I submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and subsequently moved to the UGM-133 Trident II as Trident I was phased out of service. The original warhead, retroactively called the W76 mod 0 (W76-0) variant was manufactured from 1978 to 1987. It was gradually replaced by the W76 mod 1 (W76-1) between 2008 and 2018, completely replacing the W76-0 in the active stockpile. In 2018, it was announced that some W76-1 warheads would be converted to a new low-yield W76 mod 2 (W76-2) variant. The first W76-2 warheads were deployed in late 2019.
Article summary
The W76 is an American thermonuclear warhead, designed for use on the UGM-96 Trident I submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and subsequently moved to the UGM-133 Trident II as Trident I was phased out of service. The original warhead, retroactively called the W76 mod 0 (W76-0) variant was manufactured from 1978 to 1987. It was gradually replaced by the W76 mod 1 (W76-1) between 2008 and 2018, completely replacing the W76-0 in the active stockpile. In 2018, it was announced that some W76-1 warheads would be converted to a new low-yield W76 mod 2 (W76-2) variant. The first W76-2 warheads were deployed in late 2019.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.