Navy W93 Mk7 Program Enters New Phase of Development
WASHINGTON NAVY YARD— The U.S. Navy’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) Strategic Systems Programs’ (SSP) W93 Mk7 program has entered into the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the Defense Acquisition System after achieving Milestone B this year.
During the EMD phase, the program will focus on completing production design and proving that the design is producible to meet the needs of the Navy.
The W93 warhead and the Mk7 reentry body assembly are the first United States nuclear warhead and reentry system program initiated in nearly four decades and will provide a modern warhead to the U.S. submarine launched ballistic missile fleet.
“W93/Mk7 will provide flexibility and adaptability to meet future Warfighter needs and ensure an uninterrupted at sea deterrent for the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad,” said Vice Adm. Douglas Williams, director of PAE SSP. “We were able to accelerate our entry into this next phase because of the dedicated partnership between PAE SSP, National Nuclear Security Administration, and our industry base. This is what working at hyper-speed looks like.”
PAE SSP is partnered with the National Nuclear Security Administration within the Department of Energy, and its associated national laboratories, under the interagency Nuclear Weapons Life Cycle process to design, develop, and produce the W93/Mk7 warhead and reentry system.
“Credible deterrence demands that we move with urgency, and the progress we’re making on W93/Mk7 demonstrates exactly that,” said Brandon Williams, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration.
“We are revitalizing and modernizing the Nuclear Security Enterprise to design, develop, and produce this critical new weapon with the precision our Warfighters demand. We will continue working together to deliver this capability to the fleet and ensure our sea-based strategic deterrent remains ready for the future.”
PAE SSP is responsible for sustaining the strategic weapon system on the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines and supporting the integration of the Trident II D5 Life Extension (D5LE) weapon system on the new Columbia-class SSBNs. Looking to the future, PAE SSP is actively modernizing the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad through the development of the D5LE2 strategic weapon system and pioneering regional strike capabilities of the future through development of SLCM-N and the non-nuclear hypersonic conventional prompt strike system.
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