the u.s. air force, in cooperation with thedepartment of energy’s national nuclear security administration (nnsa), has completedthe first end-to-end qualification flight tests of the new b61-12 nuclear gravity bombon the b-2 bomber. on june 29, in an official press release,the national nuclear security administration revealed two successful test flights werecarried out. u.s. air force brigadier general michael lutton,nnsa’s principal assistant deputy administrator for military application, said in a statement,“these qualification flight tests demonstrate the b61-12 design meets system requirementsand illustrate the continued progress of the b61-12 life extension program to meet nationalsecurity requirementsâ€
as per the report on 9th june, a b-2a spiritstealth bomber from the air force’s 419th test and evaluation squadron flew from edwardsair force base in california and dropped the bomb with an inactive warhead on the tonopahtest range. the u.s. military expects the b61-12 alsoknown as the b61 mod 12, to replace all existing versions of b 61 that the b 61- 3, -4, -7,and -11 in the active stockpile. in this video, defense updates analyzes thecapabilities of the new b 61-12 nuclear gravity bomb. let's get started. the b61-12 is a cooperative effort betweenthe air force and nnsa. the us air force is responsible for acquiringthe boeing-designed gps-assisted inertial
navigation system (ins)-directed tail kit. the kit has tale fins to control the bomb’sdownward descend and will enable it to dive down on the target with high accuracy. the bomb also use rockets in the main bodyto spin-stabilize it in flight and improve its accuracy. nnsa is responsible for developing the bomb’smain assembly and integrating the actual nuclear warhead on live weapons. the bomb’s exact power remain classified. some reports indicate the warhead will havea maximum yield of approximately 50 kilotons.
to give viewers a perspective here is a comparison. trinity test in new mexico in july 1945, whichushered in the nuclear age, had a yield of 20 kilotons. hiroshima’s “little boy" bomb had a yieldof 13-18 kilotons whereas nagasaki's "fat man" bomb had a yield of 20– 22-kilotonsof tnt. b 61-12 is expected to have a “dial-a-yieldâ€capability, which can limit the extent of the nuclear reaction inside the warhead tolower the explosive force. this way a b 61 mod 12 will be able to replacedifferent bombs which have predefined explosive yields. the b 61 mod 12 will also replace the b61-11bunker buster variant
in 2014, former u.s. air force chief of staffgeneral norton schwartz, speaking at an event at the stimson center think tank in washington,d.c., suggested that the guidance kit on the b61-12 will enable it to destroy hardenedunderground targets without any specialized bunker-busting variant as the blast’s impactwill be very focussed due the high accuracy. a total of 400 b 61 mod 12 is expected tobe developed. apart from b2 bombers, the bombs will be integratedinto dual-purpose combat jets, such as the f-16 and f-15 strike eagle. the u.s air force plans to integrate the b61-12on the f-35a joint strike fighter and future b-21 raider bomber that will replace b 2.
viewers may note that a new nuclear-capablecruise missile is being developed for both b-2 and the b-52 bombers. but the advantage of b61-12 is that more b61-12scan be carried by b-2, or the future b-21 raider when compared to the cruise missileand hence more targets could be neutralized in a single sortie the bombers, as well as any smaller jets carryingthe nuclear bombs though being vulnerable ot counter attacks, are an important partof america’s nuclear triad since this option offer much better flexibility. bombers and fighters can shift target or abortmission entirely even at the very last stage
when compared to missile-armed planes or seaor ground-launched cruise or ballistic missiles. clearly, b 61 mod 12 will be an importantpart of america’s military going forward.