During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on March 16, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the ranking member of the committee, said that U.S. Strategic Command had failed to convince her that the United States needs to develop a new nuclear air-launched cruise missile; the LRSO (Long-Range Standoff missile). “I recently met with Admiral Haney, the head of Strategic […]
Read MoreSearch Results for: B61-12
PBS Newshour Takes On The Holy Nuclear Triad
By Hans M. Kristensen It has almost become dogma: the United States needs to keep a Triad of strategic nuclear forces. Therefore, expensive modernization of every leg is necessary plus a fourth leg of non-strategic fighter-jets. Oh, and don’t forget nuclear command and control systems such as terminals and satellites. Without that, deterrence of potential adversaries […]
Read MoreHow Presidents Arm and Disarm
By Hans M. Kristensen [updated] It’s a funny thing: the administrations that talk the most about reducing nuclear weapons tend to reduce the least. Analysis of the history of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile shows that the Obama administration so far has had the least effect on the size of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile […]
Read MoreGeneral Confirms Enhanced Targeting Capabilities of B61-12 Nuclear Bomb
By Hans M. Kristensen The former U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, General Norton Schwartz, confirmed last week that the B61-12 nuclear bomb planned by the Obama administration will have improved military capabilities to attack targets with greater accuracy and less radioactive fallout. The confirmation comes two and a half years after an FAS publication […]
Read MoreFAS Roundup: April 15, 2013
Q&A on North Korea, letter from Nobel Laureates to Congress, B61 bomb, and much more. Better Understanding North Korea: Q&A with Seven East Asian Experts Researchers from FAS asked seven individuals who are experts in East Asia about the the recent escalation in tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Is North Korea serious about their threats […]
Read More$1 Billion for a Nuclear Bomb Tail
The U.S. Air Force plans to spend more than $1 billion on developing a guided tailkit to increase the accuracy of the B61 nuclear bomb. The cost is detailed (to some extent) in the Air Force’s budget request for FY2014, which shows development and engineering through FY2014 and full-scaled production starting in FY2015. The annual […]
Read MoreFAS Roundup: December 3, 2012
B-61 12 bomb contract signed, new CRS reports, and much more. From the Blogs Classification Decisions are Reviewable by Courts, Gov’t Admits: Executive branch decisions to classify national security information are subject to judicial review in Freedom of Information Act cases, government attorneys acknowledged in a brief filed on November 27. That potentially explosive question […]
Read MoreB61-12: Contract Signed for Improving Precision of Nuclear Bomb
The first contract was signed yesterday for the development of the guided tail kit that will increase the accuracy of the B61 nuclear bomb. This conceptual drawing illustrates the principle of adding a guided tail kit assembly to the gravity bomb. . By Hans M. Kristensen The U.S. Air Force’s new precision-guided nuclear bomb B61-12 […]
Read MoreB61-12: NNSA’s Gold-Plated Nuclear Bomb Project
By Hans M. Kristensen The disclosure during yesterday’s Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing that the cost of the B61 Life Extension Program (LEP) is significantly greater that even the most recent cost overruns calls into question the ability of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to manage the program and should call into question the B61 […]
Read MoreB61 LEP: Increasing NATO Nuclear Capability and Precision Low-Yield Strikes
The US military is planning to replace the tail section of the B61 nuclear bomb with a new guided tail kit to increase the accuracy of the weapon. This will increase the targeting capability of the weapon and allow lower-yield strikes against targets that previously required higher-yield weapons. […]
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