Old nukes get refurbished

New Mexican : The first B61 nuclear bunker busters have been successfully upgraded. The upgrade, part of the National Nuclear Security Administration’sLife Extension Program involves opening up the bombs, refurbishingthem with new parts, making sure they still work and will lastlonger. “Our nuclear weapons were never intended to last this long,and they were not designed to be taken apart, so it is a credit toour scientists and engineers across the complex who have cometogether to deliver this unit on time,’' says Tom D’Agostino, theagency’s deputy administrator for defense programs. A similarstory , about the new Reliable Warhead Program in which devicessuch as the B61 will be replaced by a completely new warhead designwithout testing the device first, appears in this week’s Nature. An editorial in the same issue asks why nations are keen to keep and maintain such massive stockpiles in existence.