The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has unveiled plans to develop a nuclear bomb with a yield 24 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II.
The Pentagon is seeking congressional approval and funding to develop a modernized version of the B61 nuclear gravity bomb, to be known as the B61-13, according to a DoD press release.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, John Plumb, stated in the release, "Today's announcement is reflective of a changing security environment and growing threats from potential adversaries. The United States has a responsibility to continue to assess and field the capabilities we need to credibly deter and, if necessary, respond to strategic attacks, and assure our allies."
A fact sheet accompanying the release revealed that the B61-13 would have a yield similar to the B61-7, which, as reported by Defense News, has a maximum yield of 360 kilotons. This payload is 24 times larger than the 15 kiloton bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and approximately 14 times larger than the 25 kiloton bomb dropped on Nagasaki. The fact sheet also stated that the B61-13 "will include the modern safety, security, and accuracy features of the B61-12."
The announcement comes amid escalating global tensions, with the U.S. recently conducting a high-explosive experiment at a nuclear test site in Nevada. Corey Hinderstein, the deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration, said the test was intended to advance "our efforts to develop new technology in support of U.S. nuclear nonproliferation goals." Hinderstein added that the experiments "will help reduce global nuclear threats by improving the detection of underground nuclear explosive tests."
This development coincides with expectations that Russia may withdraw from the 1966 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits nuclear explosions worldwide. However, the treaty has not been ratified by several countries, including China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Iran, and Egypt.
The press release also noted that the new bomb would be deliverable by modern aircraft and designed to provide the president with options to strike large and hardened military targets. If approved, the B61-13 would replace some of the existing B61-7s in the U.S. nuclear arsenal, rather than expanding the overall size of the stockpile.
Plumb concluded, "The B61-13 represents a reasonable step to manage the challenges of a highly dynamic security environment. While it provides us with additional flexibility, production of the B61-13 will not increase the overall number of weapons in our nuclear stockpile."
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