Key Points
The B61-12 LEP weapons would be a more accurate nuclear bomb due to a new guided Tail Kit Assembly
An initial B61-12 production unit may emerge by early 2020
US defence officials have outlined plans for the B61 gravity bomb family to undergo a Life Extension Program (LEP) that would consolidate and upgrade the ageing nuclear weapons, although an USD8.1 billion price tag could make the project a difficult sell with budget-conscious lawmakers.
In June US President Barack Obama ordered a new approach to nuclear deterrence in which the United States would notionally reduce its arsenal but update some of the systems. Obama said at the time that he would seek negotiations with Russia towards cutting each state's deployed strategic nuclear weapons down to just more than 1,000 - likely an ambitious goal.
The overall modernisation strategy "would consolidate the 12 unique warhead types used today into three interoperable warhead designs that function with both submarine and land-based missiles and an additional two aircraft delivered weapons," according to Madelyn Creedon, assistant secretary of defense for global strategic affairs. The effort is therefore called the '3+2 strategy'.
US officials have made the B61 one of their priorities as it is the oldest warhead design in the nuclear stockpile and has several components dating from the 1960s.
The B61 is also one of the most deployed and deployable assets in the arsenal. It is qualified for use on most delivery platforms and, aside from submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), it is the only weapon deployed outside the United States.
"Its modernisation is the first full-scope LEP the nuclear enterprise has undertaken since new warhead production was suspended in the 1990s," Creedon told Congress in her 29 October prepared testimony. "The B61-12 LEP will address multiple components, nuclear and non-nuclear."
The bombs have both strategic and tactical applications. Lower-yield B61-3 and B61-4 weapons are used on US Air Force (USAF) and NATO tactical aircraft such as the F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16C Fighting Falcon, and Tornado, while higher-yield B61-7 and B61-11 bombs are deployed with USAF B-2A Spirit and B-52H Stratofortress bombers.
The LEP, however, would replace those strategic and non-strategic assets - a mix of B61-3, B61-4, B61-7, and B61-10 - with the B61-12 and then allow the B61-11 and B83 nuclear gravity bombs to be retired from service. It is understood that the B61-12 would have a low-yield 50 kT nuclear explosive package
Specifically, Creedon said the B61-12 LEP weapons would feature a new guided Tail Kit Assembly that "will result in a more accurate system" and allow "the obsolete and prohibitively expensive parachute system to be replaced".
She noted that the new tail kit would be crucial for integrating the B61-12 on the emerging F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. "This feature is doubly important because the F-35 is destined to become the only dual-capable fighter aircraft in US and many allied air forces," Creedon added.
The upgrade would mark the first guidance package fitted to US nuclear bombs, giving them a capability similar to that of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kit that converts 'dumb' or unguided freefall bombs into precision munitions.
The US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-autonomous agency within the US Department of Energy (DoE) that oversees nuclear modernisation efforts, forecasts the programme as costing about USD8.1 billion through 2024, Creedon said.
"The impacts of sequestration threaten to undermine these efforts and contribute to further unplanned cost growth by extending the development and production periods," she added.
Creedon told Congress that budget cuts from sequestration have to date delayed the programme by about six months, meaning the first B61-12 production unit would slip from late 2019 to early 2020.
Work to consolidate and update the B61 is only part of the White House's larger 3+2 strategy to take the arsenal to three ballistic missile warheads and two air-delivered warheads.
The military is also "developing a modern long-range penetrating bomber and replacement cruise missile while upgrading our B-52H and B-2A bomber force to maintain today's visible and flexible air capability", USAF General Robert Kehler, head of US Strategic Command (STRATCOM), told Congress during the same hearing.
Moreover, the Pentagon is continuing to push ahead with its Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) replacement programme that hopes to see a first-of-class replacement SSBN delivered by 2027 and a first deterrent patrol in 2031.
Gen Kehler said the military is also "selectively modernising the nuclear command, control, and communication [NC3] architecture to ensure secure, survivable, and enduring communications between the president and the nuclear forces". He added that in the near term the Pentagon is investing in "space-based assured communications and strategic warning systems" to address "existing capability gaps" in the NC3.
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