Image source: topwar.ru
The United States has completed production of the B61-12 gravity nuclear bomb with a 50 kiloton warhead, which has become an important step in modernizing the country's nuclear arsenal. The last copy of the munition was assembled in December 2024 at the Pantex plant, after which the program moved on to the stage of maintaining and ensuring the reliability of the nuclear arsenal, the Interesting Engineering portal writes.
The article says that the B61-12 is an upgraded version of the old B61 series bombs, which first entered service in 1968. Thanks to the service life extension program, these munitions have received new components, which will allow them to be used for at least another 20 years.
Image source: topwar.ru
– said Rich Otten, senior manager of the B61-12 modernization program.
He stressed that for more than ten years, thousands of specialists have invested their efforts and knowledge in the implementation of this project.
Now that production is complete, the program moves on to the arsenal maintenance phase. The latter includes the production of spare parts, conducting tests and monitoring the condition of bombs.
– said Scott Klenke, senior manager in charge of maintaining the arsenal.
At the same time, the authors of the article emphasize that at the same time, the United States is developing a new version of the B61–13 nuclear bomb, which will have more power than the B61-12.
The maximum capacity of the B61-12 is 50 kilotons, which is significantly less than that of the B61-7 version (340 kilotons). For comparison, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima had a power of 12 to 18 kilotons, and on Nagasaki – from 18 to 23 kilotons.
At the same time, the total number of nuclear weapons in the United States will not increase, as the production of B61-13 will be offset by a reduction in the arsenal of B61-12.
Finally, the publication recalls that the B61 remains the oldest and most versatile nuclear weapon in the US arsenal, having been in service for more than 50 years. Such gravitational nuclear bombs are dropped from airplanes and explode when they reach the target altitude, as happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
