What is the yield range of a Davy Crockett warhead and is it considered a fission or fusion bomb?

Answer 1

The Davy Crocket bomb has a warhead with less than natural critical mass, so it uses a different technique based on the Swan Device of 1952. In essence it smashes Lithium into Trittium to create a Plasma Pinch.

In other words it uses conventional explosives to crush together elements which cause a fusion reaction. This creates a strong neutron flux which causes a very small amount of fissile material (Plutonium) to undergo a chain reaction.

This type of weapon also has a dial up yield so in other words the yield can be adjusted up or down by varying the amount of Trittium, but only in a range from about 0.01 to 1 kiloton.

Now that I have explained how it works I hope you will understand if I say it is a Fission weapon but it requires Fusion first to initiate the blast.

It is a hybrid Fission weapon. Also referred to as boosted Fission weapon.

Answer 2

The yield range of the Davy Crockett warhead was less than one kiloton. It was a fission bomb, meaning its explosive energy was generated primarily through nuclear fission rather than fusion reactions.