The US is spending nearly $10 billion to upgrade the B61 nuclear bomb.
On October 22, the military news website Defense News, citing sources from the Pentagon, reported that after calculating the necessary resources, the total cost of the large-scale upgrade program for the B61-12 nuclear bomb is estimated at approximately $9.5 billion.
According to information from the U.S. Federal Nuclear Safety Board, the total cost of upgrading the B61 bomb was calculated based on summer 2016 prices, when the upgraded B61 bomb completed its testing phase. Specifically, the cost for technology development was $7.6 billion; preparing the infrastructure for the upgrade cost $648 million; and $1.3 billion was allocated for purchasing equipment and spare parts for the upgrade process.
It should be noted that in 2013, the estimated cost of upgrading the B61 bomb was only around $7.3 billion. Military experts predict that the $9.5 billion figure may not be the final cost of upgrading the B61 nuclear bomb.
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| B61 nuclear bomb. |
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| The B61-12 version offers high-precision attack capabilities against the enemy's tactical and strategic targets. |
The B61-12 bomb is the most advanced modernization of this nuclear bomb series, which is over 50 years old. Specifically, the B61-12 has been transformed into a high-precision weapon with a control system and tail fins that allow it to strike targets with an accuracy of only about 10 meters. The B61-12 will replace the existing B61 3, 4, 7, and 10 versions in the US Air Force.
The US plans to deploy the B61-12 generation of nuclear bombs in Europe as tactical nuclear weapons.
According to the People's Army Newspaper
