It took 17 years and $9 billion: US completes production of new B61-12 thermonuclear bombs
The United States has successfully completed the programme for the production of modernised B61-12 thermonuclear bombs, which has been implemented by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) since 2008.
Here's What We Know
The production itself lasted from November 2021 to 18 December 2024. However, the completion of the programme was officially announced only now.
About $9 billion was spent on the development and production of the B61-12. Although this model is not fundamentally new, it uses a nuclear warhead from the old B61-4 bombs. The goal of the project was to replace several types of nuclear bombs at once: B61-3, -4, -7, and -10. The total number of B61-12s produced is estimated to be around 500, although the exact figures are not disclosed.
A B61-12 bomb on an F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft. Illustration: The Drive
The key advantage of the B61-12 is its significantly improved accuracy with a tolerance of up to 30 metres. This is achieved through the modernisation of the tail section, which allows the munition to be limited to the yield selected during pre-use (0.3, 1.5, 10 or 50 kilotons).
However, the B61-12 remains a free-fall bomb, requiring a carrier - an F-15, F-16, F-35, B-2, B-21 or Tornado - to be directly over the target for the drop. It is not equipped with planning or acceleration packages like the JDAM-ER or AASM Hammer.
This raises doubts about its effective combat use in a real nuclear war. Nevertheless, the United States is already preparing to mass-produce a more powerful version of this bomb, the B61-13 with a 360-kiloton payload, designed to destroy fortified objects such as bunkers.
Source: Energy.gov
