Significant backlogs existed in each of the three types of tests Surveillance Testing conducted in the Surveillance Testing Program---laboratory tests, flight tests, and component tests---as of September 30? 2005. Laboratory tests are conducted on w...
October 30, 2006
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Significant backlogs existed in each of the three types of tests
Surveillance Testing conducted in the Surveillance Testing Program---laboratory tests,
flight tests, and component tests---as of September 30? 2005.
Laboratory tests are conducted on weapons' non-nuclear systems
to detect defects due to handling, aging, manufacturing, or
design. Flight tests involve dropping or launching a weapon,
with its nuclear components removed, to assess performance and
reliability. Component tests involve the destructive analysis of
the five primary weapon components: pits, secondaries,
detonators, cable assemblies, and the gas transfer valves systems
to identify defects or failures. Although it made progress in
reducing the backlog for a number of systems, the surveillance
testing backlog actually increased for the majority of systems and
components during the five-year period from Fiscal Year (FY)
2000 to 2005.