US Unveils New B61-13 Nuclear ‘Gravity Bomb’ One Year Early, And It Is Devastating

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) announced the completion of the first B61-13 gravity bomb Monday.

The keynote address took place at the Pantex Plant in Texas during an event led by Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.

“Modernizing America’s nuclear stockpile is essential to delivering President Trump’s peace through strength agenda,” Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a Department of Energy press release.

“The remarkable speed of the B61-13’s production is a testament to the ingenuity of our scientists and engineers and the urgency we face to fortify deterrence in a volatile new age,” his statement continued.

In coordination with the U.S. Air Force, the Nuclear Security Enterprise delivered the first unit nearly a year ahead of schedule and under two years after the program began, making it one of the fastest-developed weapons since the Cold War, according to DOE/NNSA.

The B61 — a key component of the U.S. nuclear Triad — is the nation’s longest-serving and most adaptable nuclear weapon, the press release noted.

Unlike earlier versions, the B61-13 will be deployed exclusively by strategic bombers from bases within the continental U.S. It builds on capabilities from the recently completed B61-12 and features the same safety, security and precision upgrades, but includes a yield tailored for harder and larger military targets, according to DOE/NNSA.

“Accelerating production of the B61-13 while maintaining the highest standards of safety and security, and without disrupting our other six modernization programs, is a remarkable achievement,” David Hoagland, Acting Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs, said in the press release. “I’m confident many of these practices can be applied to future weapon modernization efforts, with promising implications for their delivery timelines.”

The B61-13 is part of DOE/NNSA’s broader effort to modernize and maintain the reliability of the nuclear arsenal through seven active programs.

By streamlining or merging key design reviews, engineers accelerated the development timeline, enabling hardware “test builds” for the B61-13 to begin just three months after receiving congressional approval and funding, the press release stated.

The B61-13 offers the President more nuclear options for tough and wide-area military targets, while the Department of Defense (DOD) and DOE/NNSA work together on a strategy to address “hard and deeply buried targets,” according to the press release.

Perplexity AI>>>>>

B61-13.................. how deep it will penetrate concrete
B61-13.................. how deep it will penetrate concrete
The B61-13 is a new U.S. nuclear gravity bomb designed to target hardened and deeply buried facilities. Its penetration capability is expected to be similar to the B61-12, with a limited earth-penetration function—primarily through soft soil, not deep concrete. However, based on available technical analysis and the history of B61-series earth-penetrating bombs, here’s what can be said about its ability to penetrate concrete:

Concrete Penetration Depth: What the Evidence Shows
The B61-11, the current earth-penetrating nuclear bomb, can penetrate about 2.4 meters (roughly 8 feet) of concrete.

Technical studies and empirical data suggest that nuclear earth-penetrators like the B61 series are limited to about 10–20 feet (3–6 meters) of concrete under optimal conditions, but in practice, penetration is usually less to avoid damaging the warhead.

Even with improvements in casing materials and bomb design, the maximum achievable penetration in reinforced concrete is generally less than 10 meters (about 30 feet) for a device the size and mass of a B61.

B61-13 Specifics
The B61-13 is said to have a yield up to 360 kilotons and is designed for use against hardened targets. However, there is no public evidence or official statement indicating that its concrete penetration is significantly greater than the B61-11 or B61-12.

The B61-13’s destructive effect against bunkers comes primarily from its high yield and the ground-shock coupling effect of a sub-surface detonation, not from deep physical penetration.

Summary estimate:

Likely penetration in reinforced concrete: 2–3 meters (6–10 feet), possibly up to 6 meters (20 feet) in ideal conditions, but not more.

Key Points
The B61-13’s penetration through concrete is limited and similar to the B61-11/12: a few meters (6–10 feet).

Its effectiveness against deeply buried targets relies on ground-shock effects from a shallow subsurface nuclear detonation, not on reaching deep into concrete.

For comparison, the best conventional bunker busters (like the GBU-28) can penetrate about 6–7 meters (20–23 feet) of concrete.

In summary:
The B61-13, like other B61 earth-penetrating bombs, is expected to penetrate no more than about 2–3 meters (6–10 feet) of reinforced concrete. Its primary advantage is not deep penetration, but the massive destructive effect of a nuclear ground burst just below the surface.

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