Amidst the drumbeats of war in Europe and Asia, the U.S. Air Force recently dropped an inert B61-12 gravity nuclear bomb over the Nellis Test and Training Range Complex in Nevada to demonstrate capability of the ageing General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole fighter to accurately deliver this devastating munition.
Apart from proving the F-16 could get the job done, the test was held to demonstrate the functioning of the bomb's non-nuclear components. These components included the arming and fire control system; radar altimeter; rocket motors and weapons control computer.
The B61-12 gravity bomb ensures the current capability for the air-delivered leg of the U.S. strategic nuclear triad well into the future for both bombers and dual-capable aircraft such as the F-16 supporting NATO.
Operational warplanes that can carry the B61-12 are the Northrop Grumman B-2A Spirit stealth bomber; the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle multi-role fighter; the F-16C/D and F-16 MLU and the Northrop Grumman F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
The B-21 Raider next generation long-range stealth bomber still under development will also be able to launch the B61.
The B61-12 will replace four versions of the B61 bomb in the U.S. nuclear stockpile. The test was conducted under a B61 life-extension program.
Implemented in late 2016, the life-extension program for the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb will see this "dumb nuclear bomb" transformed into a smart nuclear bomb whose accuracy should rival bombs equipped with Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) GPS guidance kits.
With the addition of a guided tail kit assembly, a smart B61 will have an accuracy, expressed in CEP (Circular Error Probability), of some 30 meters, which is far better than the CEP of 100 meters in its dumb bomb mode.
The life extension program (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 National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). NNSA is a semi-autonomous department within the Department of Energy.
NNSA said the B61-12 LEP "is the most complex B61-12 activity the nuclear security enterprise has undertaken in more than 20 years."