50 MX missiles were built, each carrying up to 10 W87 warheads in multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV), and were deployed from 1986 to 2005.

Design of the W87 (now called the W87 Mod 0 or W87-0) started in February 1982 at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and production of the warhead began in July 1986 and ended in December 1988.

[3] The W87 design includes all modern safety features, including the insensitive high explosives LX-17 and PBX-9502 (primary component TATB), a fire-resistant pit, and advanced arming and fuzing safety features.

[5][6] In addition to the higher yield upgrade option described above, a specific variant W87 mod 1 (W87-1) entered Phase 3 development engineering and was assigned its type designation in November 1988.

[8] The DoE states that the weapon is based on previously tested nuclear components, with a primary stage containing insensitive high explosives and advanced safety features, but that the weapon does not provide any new military capabilities.