U.S. conducted subcritical nuclear tests in Dec. and Feb.

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- The United States conducted subcritical nuclear tests at a Nevada underground test site on Dec. 1 last year and Feb. 2 this year, an arm of the Energy Department said Tuesday.

With the revelation by the National Nuclear Security Administration, the administration of President Barack Obama, who has called for creating a nuclear-free world, is likely to face criticism from antinuclear groups, including those in Japan.

The United States conducted a subcritical nuclear test in September, which marked the first such experiment since Obama took office in January 2009.

The latest experiments brought the total number of confirmed subcritical nuclear tests since then to three and underscored the administration's policy of maintaining its nuclear arsenal as long as nuclear weapons exist in the world.

Although the NNSA unveiled the testing on its website in June more than four months later after the most recent experiment, the entity explained it strives to promote transparency by releasing its subcritical nuclear tests in a quarterly "Summary of Experiments Conducted in Support of Stockpile Stewardship."

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/international/news/20110720p2g00m0in077000c.html
somebody planning something? :nuke:

And what was the point?

They probably used a too-small fuel load or some other method
to stay below self-sustaining "criticality".

Tesha

I honestly didn't get it.

:woohoo:

:patriot:

My dad used to go to these tests

They cost a huge amount of money, each time,
each test to prove

I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.
Robert Oppenheimer

All nuclear weapons are held by a civilian Agency and are on loan to the Military. In the experimental stage the Military doesn't have possession of them.

with the Dept. of energy and the DOD.

I'm sure the tests were only

for the fuck of it.