时隔20年美国恢复核武器关键材料生产：Y-12获准生产「二元」合金
美国能源部（DOE）国家核安全管理局（NNSA）11月5日在华盛顿宣布，已批准位于田纳西州 Oak Ridge 的 Y-12 国家安全综合体恢复生产一种名为「二元」（binary）合金的专用材料。这是美国20年来首次重新具备生产这种核武器材料的能力，是核武库现代化迈出的一步。
「二元」合金用于制造辐射壳体（radiation cases），包裹核武器内部的关键部件。NNSA 表示，恢复这种材料的生产能力，结束了美国二十年来依赖早年制成的有限存量的局面，为维护和现代化核武库提供了新的来源。
国家核安全管理局局长 Brandon Williams 说：「在特朗普政府领导下，NNSA 正大规模投资，重振国家的核武器基础设施。」「这不只关乎一种弹头材料。这一转变象征着我们对武库长期健康和国家长久安全的承诺。」
在 NNSA 批准恢复生产之前，Lawrence Livermore 国家实验室与 Los Alamos 国家实验室的专家评估了 Y-12 的制造工艺和成品材料。
NNSA 还说，Y-12 正改进做法、更高效地使用武器材料，确保未来武库需求有充足供应，同时继续满足战争部的全部弹头需求。
U.S. Restores Key Nuclear Weapons Material Production After 20 Years as Y-12 Is Qualified to Produce 'Binary' Alloy
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced in Washington on November 5 that it has qualified the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to resume production of a specialized material known as "binary" alloy. It is the first time in 20 years that the United States can once again produce this material used in U.S. nuclear weapons, marking a major step toward modernization of the nuclear stockpile.
Binary alloy is used to manufacture radiation cases, which enclose essential components within America's nuclear weapons. The NNSA said restoring the ability to produce the material ends two decades of reliance on a limited supply of material manufactured years ago, and gives the United States a renewed source for maintaining and modernizing its nuclear stockpile.
"Under the Trump Administration, NNSA is making sweeping investments to revitalize the nation's nuclear weapons infrastructure," said NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams. "This is not just about a warhead ingredient. This shift symbolizes our commitment to the long-term health of our weapons stockpile and the lasting security of our country."
Before the NNSA granted approval to resume production, experts from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory evaluated both the manufacturing process and the finished materials.
The NNSA said Y-12 is also working to improve practices to use weapon materials more efficiently, ensuring that adequate supplies will be available for future stockpile needs, while still meeting all Department of War warhead requirements.
来源：美国能源部
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：位于田纳西州 Oak Ridge 的 Y-12 国家安全综合体航拍资料图。照片：美国能源部 Oak Ridge，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Aerial file photo of the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Photo by the U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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