The Pentagon announced this week that it is developing a new nuclear “gravity bomb” that is 24 times more powerful than the atomic bomb detonated in Hiroshima.
As the name implies, the B61-13 is the 13th variant of the B61 family of ‘gravity bombs’, which fall on their target rather than being guided.
The new bomb will have the same explosive yield as its predecessor, the Cold War-era B61-7, estimated at 360,000 tons, and deliver a blast radius of about 60,000 feet, the length of two Manhattans.
The project essentially places the same B61-7 warhead in a new casing.
Unlike the older model, the new bomb will have modern safety and control features and an improved tail kit to help it fall straight and hit the target.
The uranium-based atomic bomb called ‘Little Boy’ was dropped on Hiroshima, where 320,000 people lived in 1945. Now the Department of Defense (DoD) has proposed an even more powerful nuclear bomb, packing a destructive force of 360 kilotons – 24 times more powerful than the World War II bomb
What is the power of B61-13 compared to the Hiroshima warhead?
The uranium-based atomic bomb, called ‘Little Boy’, was dropped on Hiroshima, where 320,000 people lived when it was released in 1945.
The bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy,” weighed 9,700 pounds and was 28 inches in diameter.
It also contained 141 pounds of uranium, while the new B61-13 is made entirely of plutonium.
The impact released an explosion with a destructive force equivalent to approximately 15 kilotons of TNT.
The explosion caused a supersonic shock wave, followed by extreme winds that remained more than a mile above hurricane force.
A secondary and equally devastating reverse wind followed, flattening and severely damaging homes and buildings miles away.
The uranium-based atomic bomb, called ‘Little Boy’, was dropped on Hiroshima, where 320,000 people lived when it was released in 1945. Pictured is a post-war replica of the bomb
The explosion caused a supersonic shock wave, followed by extreme winds that remained more than a mile above hurricane force.
The intense heat from the Hiroshima bomb reached more than 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit and scorched flesh and other flammable material more than a mile away.
Burns from the primary heat wave caused the most deaths in Hiroshima.
Now the Department of Defense (DoD) has proposed an even more powerful nuclear bomb, which has a destructive force of 360 kilotons.
The explosion would cause a massive fire with a radius of more than six kilometers hurricane-force winds exceeding 220 degrees Fahrenheit.
Experts believe the fire would also burn for more than six hours, creating a deadly environment covering more than 100 square kilometers — an area about 10 to 15 times larger than what was burned in Hiroshima, according to Make peacea human rights organization.
‘This is significantly larger (than Hiroshima), Wilson said.
“If you drop it on New York City, it will blow up Jersey City and all of Manhattan, killing a million people and killing another two million.”
The B61-13 features a tail kit, which increases the bomb’s accuracy and allows it to be used against targets that today require bombs with higher yields.
Why is B61-13 produced?
The B61-7 nuclear gravity bomb was the most important nuclear warhead in the US stockpile after the end of the Cold War.
The bomb weighs more than 1,000 pounds and has a destructive force of 360 kilotons.
The warhead was produced from the 1980s to the early 1990s before being discontinued under the George W. Bush administration.
Although some B-617s are still part of the US stockpile of nuclear bombs, these weapons have a shelf life of only twelve years.
The B61-7 nuclear gravity bomb was the most important nuclear warhead in the US stockpile after the end of the Cold War. The bomb weighs more than 1,000 pounds and has a destructive force of 360 kilotons
The radioactive elements are decaying, hindering potency and performance.
The Obama administration approved development of the B61-12, with the first unit produced in November 2021.
‘The B61-12 program is controversial because of its high price tag. In 2010, the cost was estimated at $4 billion, but the National Nuclear Security Administration’s estimate rose to $8 billion in 2012, and the Defense Department put the cost at $10.4 billion in 2013, according to a report from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
“The new guided tail kit will cost an additional $1.8 billion, and integration into five different aircraft will cost hundreds of millions more.
‘The B61-12 program is now probably the most expensive nuclear bomb program in American history.
The report notes that each B61-12 costs more to make than if it were made of solid gold.
However, the newly designed bomb features a guided tail kit instead of a parachute, which officials found provides limited standoff capability, making delivery safer.
And the nuclear bomb has both air and ground explosions.
The B61-12 is also less powerful than the new nuclear bomb: the yield can be up to 0.3 tons.
“While the B61-12 is capable of compromising the same targets as current gravity bombs in the US stockpile, it does so with lower yield and therefore less collateral damage, including radioactive fallout,” the US Bulletin said. Atomic scientists.
The Obama administration approved development of the B61-12, with the first unit produced in November 2021
According to defense officials, the B61-13 will use the warhead from the B61-7, but will be modified with new safety and handling control features and a guided tail kit, like the B61-12, to increase the bomb’s accuracy compared to the B61-7.
What have officials revealed about B61-13?
The Department of Defense announced plans for the super atomic bomb on October 27, which is shared is pending authorization and appropriation by Congress.
“The B61-13 will strengthen deterrence of adversaries and assurance of allies and partners by providing the President with additional options against certain harder and large-scale military targets,” reads a fact sheet shared as part of the B61-13 announcement .
The fact sheet also notes that B61-13 development is “pending congressional authorization and appropriation.”
The B61-13 will contain two main assemblies: the bomb assembly and the tail kit guide.
The tail kit is equipped with four maneuverable fins and tail suction.
“The B61-13 would take advantage of the current, established manufacturing capabilities that support the B61-12 and would incorporate the modern safety, security and accuracy features of the B61-12,” the DoD shared in the October announcement.
“The B61-13 could be delivered by modern aircraft, strengthening deterrence of adversaries and assurance of allies and partners by providing the President with additional options against certain tougher, larger-area military targets.
“It would replace some of the B61-7s in the current nuclear stockpile and have a yield comparable to the B61-7, which is higher than the B61-12.”
However, officials noted in the announcement that there were no specific threats that prompted the development of B61-13.
Experts Hans Kristensen and Matt Korda of the Federation of American Scientists claimed that the B61-13 is a way to replace the massive B83-1 (1,200 kiloton) bomb with a larger weapon than the B61-12.
Geoffrey Wilson, director of the Center for Defense Information, told DailyMail.com: ‘(B61-13) is a Washington warhead. A political weapon.
Some people in Congress are angry that Biden wants to get rid of the 83, and the (new bomb) seems like a compromise.
“Whether or not there is a benefit or benefit, that’s a real question that hasn’t been answered yet.”