The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration announced that it completed the last production unit, or LPU, of the B61-12 Life Extension Program, or LEP, on Dec. 18.
What Is B61-12 LEP?
NNSA said Tuesday B61-12 is the latest modification to the B61 family of nuclear gravity bombs deployed from U.S. Air Force and NATO bases.
B61-12 LEP, which started in 2008, seeks to extend the service life of B61 by at least two decades through refurbishment, reuse, or replacement of all the bomb’s nuclear and non-nuclear components.
“Completing the B61-12 on schedule is the latest example of what we’ve been saying for several years now: NNSA is delivering capabilities at the pace and scale needed by our Department of Defense partners and our deterrence requirements,” said Jill Hruby, administrator of NNSA and undersecretary of energy for nuclear security.
The program achieved the first production unit in November 2021.
Marvin Adams, deputy administrator for defense programs at NNSA, said the completion of the last B61-12 seeks to reflect NNSA’s collaboration with the U.S. Air Force and DOD partners.
“The momentum built through B61-12 production and delivery will continue into delivery on the other six active weapons modernization programs and on additional programs that will become active in the coming years,” added Adams.
Transitioning to B61-13 Production
With B61-12 LEP’s completion, NNSA will move to B61-13 bomb production, which will use the production capabilities backing the B61-12 weapon.
The agency expects to complete the B61-13 first production unit by fiscal year 2026.
In October 2023, DOD announced its pursuit of B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb development in response to an evolving security environment as described in the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review.
