Editing Neutron bomb (section)

{{short description|Low-yield thermonuclear weapon}}
{| class="wikitable floatright"  style="text-align:center;"
|+ Energy distribution of weapon
|-
! rowspan=2 | Energy type
! colspan=2 | Proportion of total energy (%)
|-
! [[Nuclear fission|Fission]]
! Enhanced
|-
|Blast||50||40<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/395689.stm |title=Sci/Tech Neutron bomb: Why 'clean' is deadly |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021100653/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/395689.stm |archive-date=2011-10-21 }}</ref> to minimum 30<ref name="fas.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/doctrine/dod/fm8-9/1ch2.htm |title=Chapter 2 Conventional and Nuclear Weapons - Energy Production and Atomic Physics Section I - General. Figure 2-IX, Table 2-III |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719221658/http://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/doctrine/dod/fm8-9/1ch2.htm |archive-date=2014-07-19 }}</ref>
|-
|Thermal energy||35||25<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk"/> to minimum 20<ref name="fas.org"/>
|-
|[[Prompt neutron|Prompt radiation]]||5||45 to minimum 30<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk"/>
|-
|Residual radiation||10||5<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk"/>
|}

A '''neutron bomb''', officially defined as a type of '''enhanced radiation weapon''' ('''ERW'''), is a low-yield [[thermonuclear weapon]] designed to maximize lethal [[neutron radiation]] in the immediate vicinity of the blast while minimizing the physical power of the blast itself. The neutron release generated by a [[nuclear fusion]] reaction is intentionally allowed to escape the weapon, rather than being absorbed by its other components.<ref name="The Neutron Bomb">{{cite web |url=http://www.atomicarchive.com/Fusion/Fusion5.shtml |title=The Neutron Bomb |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103000020/http://www.atomicarchive.com/Fusion/Fusion5.shtml |archive-date=2018-01-03 |access-date=2014-03-03 }}</ref> The neutron burst, which is used as the primary destructive action of the warhead, is able to penetrate enemy armor more effectively than a conventional warhead, thus making it more lethal as a tactical weapon.

The concept was originally developed by the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was seen as a "cleaner" bomb for use against massed [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] armored divisions. As these would be used over allied nations, notably [[West Germany]], the reduced blast damage was seen as an important advantage.<ref name="waynebiddle.com">{{cite web |url=http://waynebiddle.com/neutron-bomb-an-explosive-issue/ |title=Neutron bomb an explosive issue, 1981 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228144147/http://waynebiddle.com/neutron-bomb-an-explosive-issue/ |archive-date=2015-02-28 |access-date=2014-09-04 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Muller, Richard A. |title=Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-393-33711-2 |page=148 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6DBnS2g-KrQC&pg=PA148}}</ref> During the [[Cold War]], China also developed a neutron bomb but refrained from deploying it on tactical delivery systems.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Cunningham |first=Fiona S. |title=Under the Nuclear Shadow: China's Information-Age Weapons in International Security |date=2025 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-0-691-26103-4 |location= |doi=10.2307/jj.16040335 |jstor=jj.16040335}}</ref>{{Rp|page=76}}

ERWs were first operationally deployed for [[anti-ballistic missile]]s (ABMs). In this role, the burst of neutrons would cause nearby warheads to undergo partial fission, preventing them from exploding properly. For this to work, the ABM would have to explode within approximately {{convert|100|m|ft|-2}} of its target. The first example of such a system was the [[W66 (nuclear warhead)|W66]], used on the [[Sprint (missile)|Sprint]] missile used in the US [[Nike-X]] system. It is believed the Soviet equivalent, the [[A-135 anti-ballistic missile system|A-135]]'s [[53T6]] missile, uses a similar design.<ref name="books.google.ie">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fnqN-1UaNI4C&pg=PA67|title=Soviet Ballistic Missile Defense and the Western Alliance|first=David Scott|last=Yost|date=2 February 1988|publisher=Harvard University Press|via=Google Books|isbn=9780674826106}}</ref>

The weapon was once again proposed for tactical use by the United States in the 1970s and 1980s, and production of the [[W70]] began for the [[MGM-52 Lance]] in 1981. This time, it led to protests as the growing [[anti-nuclear movement]] gained strength through this period. Opposition was so intense that European leaders refused to accept it on their territory. US President [[Ronald Reagan]] ordered the production of the W70-3, which remained in the US stockpile until they were retired in 1992. The last W70 was dismantled in February 1996.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= |first1= |last2= |first2= |title= U.S. Nuclear Weapons Stockpile, July 1996|url= |journal= Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|year= 1996|volume= 52|issue= 4|pages= 61–63|doi=10.1080/00963402.1996.11456646 |bibcode= 1996BuAtS..52d..61.|access-date=|doi-access= free}}</ref>