NSAID: USA releases first production prototype of the upgraded B61-12 atomic bomb … This is reported by TASS with reference to the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NSNSA).
It is specified that the sample was produced on November 23.
The upgraded warhead will replace three modifications of the B61 -3, B61-4 and B61-7 ammunition B61, which entered service in 1968. As noted in the department, as a result of modernization, the duration of the bomb's service in service will increase by at least 20 years. Full-scale serial production is planned to begin in May 2022, and the completion of the production of all necessary nuclear warheads will be in the 2026 financial year.
At the end of November, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the US Air Force had worked out a possible nuclear strike on Russian territory. According to him, ten strategic bombers have worked out the use of nuclear weapons from two directions.
On October 6, The Drive reported on the tests of the B61-12 nuclear bomb in the United States. The fifth generation F-35 Lightning fighter-bomber dropped a mock bomb at Tonopah training ground in Nevada.