The US Department of Defense signed a contract with the American Corporation for the development and testing of equipment necessary for the use of nuclear ammunition from the fifth-generation F-35A Lightning II fighter.
When designing the F-35 fighter, the creators of the machine initially took into account the possibility of placing nuclear weapons on board it.
The signed contract indicates the beginning of the practical implementation of the original ideas. It is expected that it will be possible to prepare and test a modified version of the F-35A aircraft with tactical nuclear bombs B61-12 no later than 2024.
The B61-12 aviation guided bomb is a deep modernization of the B61 ammunition developed in the middle of the last century. In version B61-12, the development of the Boeing company uses a new tail and navigation equipment.
Fifth generation F-35 Lightning II fighters were developed in F-35A modifications for the air force, F-35B (with vertical take-off and vertical landing) for marines aviation and F-35C (used from aircraft carrier) for the US naval forces . In addition to the United States, the closest allies take part in the creation of the machine: Australia, Great Britain, Canada, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Turkey. Also, the F-35 is purchased for the needs of the air forces of Israel and Japan.
