The National Nuclear Security Administration has concluded three non-nuclear flight tests of a gravity bomb in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force and allies from NATO. NNSA said Tuesday that it worked with partners to test the B61-12 gravity bomb last month at Tonopah Test Range, Nevada in preparation for the weapon system’s final demonstration next year.
The tests support the B61-12 Life Extension Program that aims to have the bomb operational for at least 20 more years. The program consists of efforts to refurbish the weapon’s nuclear and nonâ€nuclear parts.
The Nuclear Weapons Council, an organization jointly established between the departments of Defense and Energy, oversees the program. The B61 is an aircraft-dropped nuclear gravity bomb that has been operational in the U.S. military for almost half a century.
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