US scientists have started designing a new generation of nuclear arms that are meant to be sturdier, more reliable and have longer lives, the New York Timesreported today.
The officials told the newspaper that the effort marks a "fundamental shift" in design philosophy.
The newspaper said that bomb makers in the past had sought to use the latest technologies and innovative methods to make warheads that were lightweight, powerful and sometimes so small that a dozen could fit atop a missile.
Now, the newspaper said, American designers are looking at how to make arms that are more robust - in part to avoid the uncertainties and deteriorations of nuclear old age.
The paper reported that the effort so far involved only $9 million for warhead designers at the nation's three nuclear weapon laboratories.
According to the article, the small initial programme, which involves fewer than 100 people, could produce finished designs in the next five to ten years and culminate in prototype warheads.