Deployment of the new B61-12 thermonuclear gravity bombs of the U.S. Air Force continues, with Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters set to carry this devastating weapon before 2025.
The McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle recently became the first U.S. warplane officially certified to launch the B61-12. The F-35 will go through certification on the weapon starting 2021.
Other warplanes that will launch the B61-12 will be the Northrop Grumman B-2A Spirit stealth bomber; the General Dynamics F-16C/D multi-role fighters and the Panavia PA 200 Tornado multirole fighter flown by the Royal Air Force, the German Air Force and the Italian Air Force.
The B61-12 will also be deployed by the upcoming Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider long-range heavy bomber, also called the "China bomber" because of its very long range.
The B61-12 is the latest and most advanced version of the B61 family of gravity nuclear bombs. It's intended to improve the nuclear attack capabilities of the USAF and its NATO allies. The B61 family of bombs has been operational with the USAF since 1968.
The B61-12 ensures the effectiveness of the air-delivered leg of the U.S. strategic nuclear triad well into the future for both strategic heavy bombers such as the B-2 and strike aircraft such as the F-15 and F-35.
Armed with a new warhead, the B61 is a variable yield (or "dial-a-yield" nuke) design. It can deliver a yield ranging from 0.3 kilotons to 340 kilotons, making it an ideal tactical nuclear weapon for use against large enemy troop concentrations, warship fleets and command centers. In contrast, the "Little Boy" atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945 had a yield of only 15 kt.
The B61-12 will replace the B61-3, B61-4, B61-7 and B61-10 nuclear gravity bomb models. The warhead was developed and produced by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-independent agency located within the Department of Energy.
The life-extension program (LEP) for the B61-12 saw this dumb nuclear bomb transformed into a smart nuclear bomb whose accuracy should rival non-nuclear bombs equipped with Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) GPS guidance kits.
A B61-12 will have a CEP (Circular Error Probability) accuracy of 30 meters with the addition of a guided tail kit assembly. This accuracy is far better than the CEP of 100 meters in its dumb bomb mode.
The cost of the LEP for the B61-12 (or the B61 Mod 12), including the JDAM-like guided tail kit assembly, should come to $9.5 million, according to the NNSA.
The success of the tests leading to the certification of the F-15E Strike Eagle as a launch platform for the B61-12 is a major milestone on the path to full rate production and the bomb's initial operation capability on the F-15E in the coming years, said Brig. Gen. Ty Neuman, NNSA's principal assistant deputy administrator.
"Once delivered, this capability will underpin our nation's deterrent and strengthen our NATO partnerships," he noted.
