US unveils first modernised B61 nuclear warhead for air bombs

The US has produced the first modernised serial version of the powerful nuclear warhead B61 in the 61-13 variant to equip air bombs.

The Department of Energy said that the first production unit of the new B61-13 nuclear bomb has been completed approximately one year ahead of schedule, Caliber.Az reports via foreign defence news website. 

The B61-13, based on the earlier B61-12 variant, provides a higher maximum yield, offering US officials a crucial additional capacity to target hardened sites like underground command and control facilities, as well as those spread across larger areas. 

The US military first revealed plans to develop and deploy the B61-13 in 2023, primarily as a replacement for the B61-7. Initially, the B61-12 was slated to replace the B61-7, B61-3, and B61-4 variants. The B61 is the longest-serving family of nuclear gravity bombs in the US arsenal. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright stated, “Modernizing America’s nuclear stockpile is essential to delivering President Trump’s peace through strength agenda. The remarkable speed of the B61-13’s production is a testament to the ingenuity of our scientists and engineers and the urgency we face to fortify deterrence in a volatile new age. It was my honour today to stamp the first completed unit at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, where all the efforts of National Nuclear Security Administration’s labs, plants, and sites culminated in this amazing milestone. This achievement signals American strength to our adversaries and allies alike.” 

The Pantex Plant in Texas, under the management of the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), is responsible for assembling and disassembling US nuclear weapons, as well as overseeing testing and evaluation activities. The NNSA also manages the development of new nuclear weapons and the maintenance of the existing stockpile. On May 7, Teresa Robbins, NNSA’s Acting Administrator, informed the House Armed Services Committee that “NNSA anticipated achieving the first production unit for the B61 Mod 13 later this month, almost a full year ahead of schedule.” 

Robbins also highlighted that “taking advantage of existing B61 production lines” was a key factor in accelerating the B61-13's production timeline.

The NNSA added, “Decades of B61 design and qualification data gave NNSA’s program managers and engineers from the national laboratories and production plants confidence that they could accept calculated risks to speed production. By streamlining or in some cases combining ‘design gates’ – the rigorous reviews conducted at each step of a weapon design process – engineers were able to commence production far sooner than a standard schedule would allow. These efficiencies allowed B61-13 hardware ‘test builds’ to be manufactured just three months after the program received authorization and appropriation from Congress.”

 From the released images, the B61-13 appears nearly identical to the B61-12 in its external design. It features the same tail kit assembly (TKA) with an inertial navigation system (INS) guidance package, which was introduced on the B61-12.

By Naila Huseynova