The Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP)

Thanks in part to UCS advocacy, an ineffective and unnecessary nuclear weapon known as the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) which would have introduced a host of issues and concerns— including creating massive amounts of radioactive fallout that could harm innocent civilians if used— was not developed by the Bush administration. While the RNEP was not pursued, this type of project is sadly not an outlier in a long history of wasteful spending on nuclear weapons programs by the U.S. Department of Defense.