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Last November the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was successfully flight-tested to carry the B61-12 nuclear bomb at the Sandia National Laboratories’ Tonopah Test Range, Nevada. An F-35A carried a mock warhead, which was used in a strike from an altitude of 10,500 feet, as part of a full-weapons systems demonstration that was designed to increase confidence the bomb would “work when needed.”

It took approximately forty-two seconds for the bomb to hit the designated target on the range.

“This was the first test to exercise all systems, including mechanical, electrical, communication and release between the B61-12 and the F-35A,” said Steven Samuels, a manager with Sandia's B61-12 Systems Team.

That test paved the way for the fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter to be integrated with a tactical nuclear weapon as part of the latest Block 4 upgrade, which will also include a host of other modifications that are aimed at improving the aircraft's performance.

The improvements to the already-advanced F-35 will boost the combat capability of the stealth fighter jet. These improvements will allow it to penetrate hostile airspace without warning and possibly be a part of the United States’ nuclear triad.

The B61-12, which is twelve feet in length and approximately 825 pounds, is an air-launched nuclear gravity bomb that utilized an inertial navigation system (INS) to make a precision strike on a target. It was first integrated with the U.S. Air Force’s F-15E Strike Eagle, where it is carried externally. The weapon will also be certified to be carried on the Air Force’s B-2 Spirit strategic bomber, as well as the F-16C/D fighter.

Unlike with the other fighters including the F-15 and F-16, the B61-12 will be carried internally in the F-35, and in August began the first in a series of test flights that will end with a full weapons systems demonstration later this year.

“This was the first test to exercise all systems, including mechanical, electrical, communication and release between the B61-12 and the F-35A,” said Steven Samuels, a manager with Sandia's B61-12 Systems Team.

The testing has been seen as an essential part of the B61-12 Life Extension Program, which was created to refurbish, reuse or replace components, extend the bomb's service life, and improve its safety, security and effectiveness. The B61 first entered service 50 years ago, and over the past five decades that it has gone through numerous modifications to increase safety and reliability.

The life extension program allows U.S. military scientists and engineers to address the aging of nuclear weapons components, which are requalified and go back into the weapon without change, while other components may need to be remanufactured using the original specifications. In some cases, Sandia also redesigns components when the original technology is no longer available.

The B61-12 consolidates and replaces most of the previous variants of the gravity bomb. The National Nuclear Security Administration announced last year that will manufacture the first refurbished B61-12 in fiscal year 2022.

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He regularly writes about military small arms, and is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com.

Image: Reuters