The leading military powers of the world continue to increase their nuclear potential by developing new weapons, as well as their means of delivery and modernizing old types of weapons. Information about the testing of new types of ballistic missiles, the deployment of new elements of a missile defense system, the launching of more sophisticated submarines with nuclear missiles on board constantly appears in the media.
In the United States, tests of a nuclear guided bomb B61-12 were successfully completed at a test site in Nevada.
In accordance with agreements to ban nuclear weapons tests, the B61-12 bomb was dropped without nuclear charge from an F-15E aircraft. Tests were conducted on October 20, but information about them became available to the general public only now. Tests were conducted in the normal mode, the report states that during the tests, the ammunition showed results close to the specified.
This year they will conduct two more tests of this ammunition.
The nuclear bomb B61 (or rather, thermonuclear) was developed as early as 1963. This is one of the oldest ammunition in service with US strategic forces. During its many years of service, the B61 has been upgraded twelve times (this is indicated by its index).
In 2010, the program of the next modernization of this munition began. It was planned to allocate 2 billion dollars. One of the areas of modernization is the refinement of the bomb to install it on the latest American aircraft. The existing modifications of the munition can be installed both on strategic bombers and on tactical aircraft.
Also, a new bomb has a better tail section, which was developed by Boeing specialists, which allows it to hit targets more accurately. The V61-12 has a combined guidance system. All modifications of the B61 bomb have a special Kevlar parachute-retarder, which allows the aircraft carrier to go a safe distance after dropping ammunition.
The upgraded ammunition is scheduled for mass production in 2020. The US Department of Defense plans to use the B61-12 up to the year 2025.
Various modifications of the B61 are the main type of such munitions, which have been in service with the American strategic forces since the beginning of the nuclear era.
Today, the main type of nuclear bombs used by the US Air Force is the B61-11. This is an anti-bunker ammunition, it has a reinforced body, which allows it to penetrate into the ground at a certain depth before the explosion. The bomb can be used against enemy bunkers, command posts, mine installations.
All the latest modifications of the B61 bomb have variable power, that is, thermonuclear charges of various capacities can be installed on the ammunition.
Ammunition of the B61 type of various modifications is deployed at US military bases located in Europe. From time to time, this causes scandalous exposures in the Western media.
A couple of months ago, a number of German publications published information that the United States plans to place up to twenty B61-12 nuclear bombs in Germany. However, the American side said that this information is not correct, since the ammunition has not yet been adopted and is just undergoing a test phase. In October of this year, representatives of the United States declared that their country did not have plans to deploy new nuclear weapons in Europe.
The Russian side, however, called such actions "escalating tensions" and warned that if the information is confirmed, Russia will take retaliatory measures.
