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Where Are Nuclear Weapons Made?
A look at one of the most heavily guarded facilities in the world
It is no secret that the United States maintains a nuclear arsenal containing thousands of warheads. These warheads are diverse in nature, from small tactical warheads designed to be stuffed into a covert backpack to large hydrogen warheads that are fitted to ICBMs launched from silos in the heartland. But where do all of these nukes come from? Like everything, nuclear weapons have to be assembled somewhere. So, where are nuclear weapons made in the United States today?
The primary assembly plant for the United States’s nuclear weapons is the Pantex Nuclear Weapons Facility located in the Texas Panhandle. This facility comprises 20,000 acres of land northeast of Amarillo. Just 10% of these 20,000 acres contain facilities. The other 90% is used as a buffer and surveillance zone. The Pantex Nuclear Weapons Facility is surrounded by acres and acres of rural farmland, but the whole area is heavily monitored by the Department of Energy, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the Texas Department of State Health Services. The airspace above the facility is heavily controlled and is completely closed to civilian air traffic.
