The Weapons Laboratories

Of the 27 national laboratories overseen by the Energy Department, these are the weapons labs that designed, built and still maintain all U.S. nuclear weapons:

Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, N.M.

Founded: 1943
Employees: 7,000
Managed by: University of California (since 1943)
Responsible for: W78 ICBM warhead; W76 and W88 submarine-launched ballistic missile warheads; W80 cruise missile; and B61 bomb

Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, N.M.

Founded: 1949
Employees: 7,500
Managed by: Sandia Corp., a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin (took over from AT&T in 1993)
Responsible for: arming mechanisms, fuses, electronics and other non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Livermore, Calif.

Founded: 1952
Employees: 7,300
Managed by: University of California (since 1952).
Responsible for: W62 and W87 ICBM warheads; B83 bomb; and W84 cruise missile.

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