TheGBU-57A - Bis by far America ’s biggest bunker buster , but it ’s not actually our most muscular one . That acclamation goes to the deep dive , strong hit , supersonic B-61 tactical nuclear bomb . And we ’re about to expend more than $ 11 billion to ensure they stay on the front rail line through the centre of the next decade .
Originally developed in 1960 at Los Alamos National Labs as a tactical nuclear gadget — that is , a bunker - busting casing wrapped around a small atomic warhead — for penetrating to a great extent fortified instalment and vaporize everything inside . They were used throughout the Cold War as NATO ’s front line check against likely Soviet expanding upon , and have since become a cornerstone of the US Enduring Stockpile arsenal of nuclear weapons .
There have been a total of nine discrepancy of the B-61 , capable of delivering yields in the 0.3 to 340 kiloton range depending on setting and configurations . That ’s a couple of magnitudes big than the paltry 15 kiloton warhead we dropped on Hiroshima . The new interlingual rendition , the B-61 Mk 11 , has been in service since 1997 . It measures just under 12 foot foresighted and 13 in in diameter , and weighs in the neighborhood of 700 pound ( roughly what old iterations have ) . Its W80 atomic warhead weighs another 290 pounds . However , unlike other B-61 models that relied on unstable plastic bonded explosives to implode the core , the Mk 11 utilize insensitive high explosives which will not blow up if exposed to fire , electric shock , or impact .
With its streamlined casing , the B-61 can be mounted under the wing of a number of US aircraft — primarily the B-2 Spirit but also the F / A-18 Hornet , A-6 Intruder , F-15E Strike Eagle , essentially all NATO two-fold role fighters . Its form admit it to withstand offer ultrasonic flight of stairs and can be released at Mach 2 as low as 50 feet above the deck . The B-61 can be programme for gentle wind outburst , laydown detonation ( floating to the ground using a carbon paper fibre parachute then exploding ) , and timed detonation .
It ’s also far more exact than elderly air dropped nuclear bombs , which reduce the necessary size of the load . Wherein late tactical nuclear warhead would require a 400 kiloton equivalent capitulum to make up for their extensive , 110 - 170 meter targeting spoke , the B-61 will discover within just 30 meters ( same as a JDAM ) of its destine target , pass the demand for a huge warhead to blow through that additional 100 - plus time of dirt .
Critics have vocalize a number of vexation with the continued deployment of these tactical nukes . They care that the nukes will spread radioactive radioactive dust beyond their intend butt ( there ’s really not much left but a smoulder crater after this thing depart boom ) , placing civilian lives and health in jeopardy for years to issue forth . Plus , the political and diplomatic side effect from launch another thermonuclear warhead would be catastrophic for the U.S. , what with the multiple external pact doing so would despoil .
Still , these weapons proffer an unparalleled degree of deterrence , which is why the USAF is angling for $ 11.6 billion to refurbish the subsist stockpile of B-61 Mk11 ’s ( estimates order from 200 to 400 units in all ) into Modern Mk12s . These renovate warheads would be variable yield with a user selectable detonation between 0.3 , 5 , 10 , and 50 kilotons and could remain in service through 2025 . A freestanding $ 178 million retrofit to the Mk11 ’s tailfins lead off in 2012 will countenance the F-35 Lightning II to run them as well as add a small tie potentiality .
However , Congress has strictly opposed the load restoration , and insists that the Pentagon calculate into alternatives — like maybe not using atomic sand trap dude in the heart of Europe . [ Wiki1,2 – Ploughshares – How Stuff Works – FAS ]
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