Updated report from CRS suggests Reliable Replacement Warhead design work is on a decidedly fast track, according to me (sub. seems permanently req. now):
Pentagon planners and nuclear weapons scientists, working on a shoestring budget, are moving quickly to begin designing a new easy-to-maintain nuclear warhead, according to an internal congressional analysis.
The initial effort is focused on coming up with preliminary designs in the next 18 months for a replacement to the Los Alamos National Laboratory-designed warheads carried aboard Navy nuclear missile submarines, according to the report from the Congressional Research Service.
The report, obtained by the Journal, adds substantial new detail to what is publicly known about the normally secretive process of nuclear weapons design. It suggests the nuclear weapons community is moving quickly with the limited funds available to flesh out details of the Reliable Replacement Warhead.