Posted on 04/08/2025 8:26:59 PM PDT by Red Badger
America's newest weapon of mass destruction is going into production seven months ahead of schedule as fears of a war with China continue to grow.
Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico are kickstarting development of the B61-13, a nuclear 'gravity bomb' that was originally slated to go into production for the US Air Force in 2026.
Gravity bombs are literally what they sound like, a bomb dropped from a military plane which lets gravity do all the work.
The timeline was moved up due to the 'critical challenge and urgent need' for a new nuclear deterrent - a threat that's hopefully big enough to discourage America's enemies from attacking first.
The B61-13 is 24 times more powerful than the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945. That first atom bomb, called 'Little Boy,' had a yield of about 15 kilotons - the explosive equivalent of 15,000 tons of TNT.
The B61-13, on the other hand, is designed to have a yield of around 360 kilotons, or 360,000 tons of TNT.
This particular weapon was scheduled to become the full-time replacement for older nuclear bombs carried by US stealth bombers and dropped over targets without warning by 2028.
However, with growing economic and military tensions between the US and major powers like China and Russia, the dramatically updated timeline could put a terrifying new weapon on the battlefield by the end of this year.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
It seems to me the “super” here is the compact and relatively light weight package that can still deliver a fairly strong punch. Given the proper mounts, etc., even an older F-16 should be able to carry two of these, plus the F-16’s normal external fuel tanks.
One MIGHT almost be able to see the top of the mushroom cloud from that distance. An “object” would theoretically need to be ~48 miles high to be seen by an observer 620 miles away @ reference ground height “0”. The Tsar Bomba’s mushroom cloud was estimated to reach 42 miles height. Throw in a little ray refraction, the “almost” of that 620 miles, and an observer at high elevation, and you are “almost” there.
Earth curvature / line of sight ref. page here, for those curious:
https://www.davidsenesac.com/Information/line_of_sight.html
:-)
Christian Slater, broken arrow. Love that movie
In strategic terms, Trump's move is a "spoiling attack" meant to disrupt China's impending economic and military offensive. If it works, then we may avoid World War III and the need to threaten or use nuclear fireworks against China. If not, then we will soon need modern, high yield nuclear weapons.
Ivy Mike was a science experiment, not a weapon.
Ivy Mike weighed 164,000 lbs.
B61-13 weighs 824 lbs.
Ivy Mike was not a deliverable weapon. It weighs more than twice the capacity of a B-52.
The news isn’t that this is more powerful than anything prior. That’s not even an important characteristic when talking about these types of weapons. The story is how many are being made.
I noticed that too.
Dimwits.
Fun fact. You’ll can hear the P-Wave shockwave from hundreds of miles away. It sounds like as if you’re laying on a meters-thick steel floor and someone hundreds of feet away hits it with a sledgehammer.
Heard them in my hooch in Iraq when Pak and India were testing nukes in 2005-2007 two days before the media flurry about them.
Regards,
And they worried about asteroids.
Winner!! 🏆
Modern nuclear weapons are much cleaner than those in the 50’s.
At least +95% of the energy comes from fusion.
Castle Bravo was 76% Fission with literally tons of fission products put into the environment.
The enviro-mentalists will like that.................
Thats like leaving money on the table!
Those are typically attached to ICBM delivery systems. Fire off one of those (or a flock of them) and response is guaranteed. But stealth aircraft and gravity bombs of sufficient power may render response impossible or limited. They're gone before they know they were under attack.
Please note that this is NOT a first strike recommendation, but acknowledging the option.
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