Manufacturer catalog

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory in northern New Mexico with a central role in the National Nuclear Security Administration weapons enterprise. Its public mission material describes work on nuclear weapons design, certification, component manufacturing, stockpile modernization, plutonium science, and surveillance of active U.S. stockpile systems.

1 weapons

Established in 1943 during the Manhattan Project, Los Alamos remains one of the principal U.S. nuclear-weapons laboratories. The laboratory says its mission is to ensure the effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear deterrent through design, certification, and component manufacturing, including plutonium pits, detonators, explosives, prototype fabrication, and high-performance computing used to certify weapons without underground nuclear explosive testing.

LANL public material identifies the laboratory as responsible for maintaining and modernizing the B61 family of gravity bombs, the W76 family of warheads, the W78 warhead, and the W88 warhead, and as design agency for the W93 in development. Its manufacturer role is best understood as a federally owned research, design, certification, and component-production organization rather than a commercial prime contractor.

Nuclear weapons design and certificationStockpile stewardship and modernizationNuclear and non-nuclear weapons componentsPlutonium pit productionNational security science and engineering

Notable Systems

B61-12 Life Extension Program, Nuclear gravity bomb, Munitions

B61-12 Life Extension Program

Nuclear gravity bomb

NNSA describes the B61-12 as the completed life-extension program for the B61 gravity-bomb family, and LANL describes Los Alamos and Sandia as design agencies, with Los Alamos also responsible for detonators and other classified components.

Sources: LANL B61-12 Life Extension Program, NNSA completes B61-12 Life Extension Program

W76-1 Life Extension Program

DOE and NNSA describe the W76-1 as a refurbishment of the W76-0 submarine-launched ballistic-missile warhead that extended the original design service life from 20 to 60 years; an NNSA fact sheet identifies Los Alamos and Sandia as design agencies for the refurbished W76-1 warhead.

Sources: W76-1 Life Extension Program Fact Sheet, DOE and NNSA celebrate W76-1 Life Extension Program

B61, W76, W78, and W88 stockpile systems

LANL mission and deterrence material identifies Los Alamos responsibility for maintenance and modernization of the B61, W76, W78, and W88 stockpile systems, including annual assessment, surveillance, and life-extension or alteration work when required.

Sources: LANL mission, LANL deterrence defined

Manufacturer History

  1. Laboratory established for the Manhattan Project

    LANL identifies 1943 as the start of Los Alamos' central national-security role, and its pit-production material traces the first plutonium pits for nuclear weapons to Los Alamos work in 1945.

    Sources: LANL mission, LANL pit production

  2. Triad operating contract era begins

    NNSA's LANL contract page lists the current Los Alamos National Laboratory management-and-operating contract as operated by Triad National Security, LLC.

    Sources: NNSA LANL contract

  3. W76-1 LEP completed

    LANL and DOE sources describe the W76-1 Life Extension Program as completed in January 2019, extending the W76-0 warhead design service life from 20 to 60 years.

    Sources: LANL Navy warheads, DOE and NNSA celebrate W76-1 Life Extension Program

  4. First production-unit plutonium pit diamond-stamped

    LANL's pit-production page says NNSA diamond-stamped the first production-unit plutonium pit at Los Alamos on October 1, 2024, a milestone in the renewed pit-production mission.

    Sources: LANL pit production

  5. B61-12 last production unit completed

    NNSA reported that the B61-12 Life Extension Program completed its last production unit on December 18, 2024, after design, qualification, and component-production work by Los Alamos and other nuclear-security-enterprise sites.

    Sources: NNSA completes B61-12 Life Extension Program

Website links
Official websiteLANL missionNNSA LANL contract

Los Alamos is a U.S. government-owned national laboratory operated under contract, and many weapon-design details remain classified. Public claims are limited to official LANL, DOE, and NNSA descriptions of mission, organizational responsibility, component production, and named stockpile programs.

Manufacturer Sources

  • LANL missionPublisher: Los Alamos National Laboratory | Note: Supports LANL mission, 1943 origin, design-agency and production roles, stockpile systems responsibility, and focus areas. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • LANL pit productionPublisher: Los Alamos National Laboratory | Note: Supports LANL plutonium-pit production history, current pit-production mission, PF-4 context, and the October 1, 2024 production-unit pit milestone. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • LANL deterrence definedPublisher: Los Alamos National Laboratory | Note: Supports LANL responsibility for design, production, certification, and maintenance of named U.S. stockpile systems. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • LANL B61-12 Life Extension ProgramPublisher: Los Alamos National Laboratory | Note: Supports LANL and Sandia design-agency roles for the B61-12 LEP and LANL responsibility for detonators and other classified components. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • NNSA completes B61-12 Life Extension ProgramPublisher: National Nuclear Security Administration | Note: Supports B61-12 LPU date, program completion context, and Los Alamos participation in enterprise design, development, qualification, and component production. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • W76-1 Life Extension Program Fact SheetPublisher: National Nuclear Security Administration | Note: Supports W76-1 LEP description, service-life extension, refurbishment relationship to W76-0, Navy stockpile context, and Los Alamos/Sandia design-agency roles. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • DOE and NNSA celebrate W76-1 Life Extension ProgramPublisher: U.S. Department of Energy | Note: Supports public completion context for the W76-1 Life Extension Program and NNSA nuclear-security-enterprise participation. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • LANL Navy warheadsPublisher: Los Alamos National Laboratory | Note: Supports LANL design and maintenance context for W76 and W88 submarine-launched warheads, including W76-1, W76-2, and W88 Alt 370 summaries. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • NNSA LANL contractPublisher: National Nuclear Security Administration | Note: Supports LANL operating-contract relationship with Triad National Security, LLC. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • DOE Los Alamos National Laboratory overviewPublisher: U.S. Department of Energy | Note: Supports DOE overview of LANL as a national-security laboratory performing R&D, design, maintenance, and testing for the nuclear weapons stockpile. | Accessed: 2026-07-11

Produced weapons

Category

Munitions

Standalone missiles, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, and guided or unguided explosive payloads.

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