"It is already more expensive than gold": the US press on the completion of flight tests of a new aviation nuclear bomb

In the USA, the stage of flight tests has been completed, in the framework of which, at least since 2019, the compatibility of the new aviation the B61-12 nuclear bomb and the F-35A strike fighter. Against this background, a video was published demonstrating the launch of an inert version of this weapons from the internal bomb bay of the aircraft.

Bomb with auxiliary missiles

As explained, in August this year, the F-35A dropped a B3,2-61 from a height of 12 km with an imitation of a nuclear warhead. After 42 seconds, the bomb hit the intended target, which was located at the range.

This was the first test that involved all of the systems, including mechanical, electrical, communications and launch, needed to make the B61-12 and F-35A work together.

- explained the developer, pointing out that for the first time a nuclear bomb is launched from the internal compartments of a supersonic carrier.

During the flight of the bomb, which can be distinguished by its orange color, two auxiliary missiles are fired, located in its middle part. This leads to stabilization of the rotation of the ammunition, which is necessary for greater accuracy of destruction. Thanks to the inertial navigation system, it is possible to target the bomb using GPS communication.

Development problems

Previously, the developer reported that full compatibility of the new nuclear bomb with the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter and the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber has been achieved. However, no official certification was carried out (as in the case of the F-35A, despite the announcement of the completion of flight tests).

Currently, these aircraft are not licensed to carry nuclear bombs due to their vulnerability to increasingly powerful air defenses [potential adversaries]. It looks like in the near future [F-15E and B-2] will only carry cruise missiles with nuclear warheads

- says The Drive, indicating that work remains to be done to integrate the B61-12 with the F-16C / D Viper and F / A-18E / F.

At the same time, the bomb itself is still being fine-tuned. The first production samples of the B61-12 are expected to be received before 2022. A number of difficulties arose along the way. In particular, one of the suppliers supplied structural elements that did not meet strict reliability requirements. Their replacement will cost $ 850 million. All this leads to delays in the implementation of the program and an increase in its cost against the background of statements about the completion of flight tests.

The US noted that the bomb has already become more expensive than gold.

Each such case is more expensive than the weight equivalent of a nuclear bomb in gold

- notes the American edition.

Comments

[soul]

The US noted that the bomb has already become more expensive than gold

Nuclear weapons and can't be cheap

[Sentinel-vs]

If a bomb, then expect to use in the absence of countermeasures of the enemy's air defense?
I wonder who is considered as an enemy in this case.

[Avior]

The bombs were originally intended in case of a full-scale Soviet invasion of Europe.
And now for whom, the question ...

[Vol4ara]

Quote: Sentinel-vs

If a bomb, then expect to use in the absence of countermeasures of the enemy's air defense?
I wonder who is considered as an enemy in this case.

An enemy whose air defense has been suppressed

[Pereira]

Or demoralized. In theory, Matthias Rust could have dropped a bomb on the Kremlin.

[iouris]

Quote: Pereira

Theoretically Mathias Rust

could not fly to Moscow and land on Red Square. In fact, the command to destroy the target was not given, and the KGB officers (or on a command from the "Big House") quickly removed the trolleybus wires ... Then the newly minted generals of the VPO High Command, who came in large numbers from Staropol, fed Rust with lunches from Moscow restaurants (as they say).
It was a clear signal (who needs it).

[Pereira]

Why, then, was the top of the army removed? Did you exceed the budget when feeding?
And further. It was a long time ago. I don’t remember trolley buses running on Red Square.

[bayard]

The command for the destruction really did not arrive, although it was discovered 35 km from the coastline of the Waterfall RLR and was conducted without failure through the entire first line. And on most of the route too. It was not possible to identify exactly, the pilot of the MiG-23, who flew to intercept, reported that a light-engine "something like Yak-52", maybe someone from DOSAF got lost and returned. On the second approach (they had a difference in speed of 250 km / h - 450 against 200), the target was not detected.
There is an assumption that after flying around Rust with a fighter, he sat down in a clearing and waited for a couple of hours ... but no one on the ground noticed or arrested him, so he took off again and, focusing on the railway, flew to Moscow. According to the time spent by Rust in flight and according to the remaining fuel in his "Tsesna", it turned out that he had definitely not been flying for two hours, and therefore he was sitting on the lawn.
Immediately after that event, a whole commission from the General Staff and the Air Defense Headquarters came to us, collected a complete analysis with minute-by-minute wiring along the entire route, indicating the dead zones of "non-observation" in the "second echelon" ... And in the Moscow region then there were search and rescue operations - there, two aircraft fell at once, Tu-22 (without specifying the modification) and MiG-25. About 8-10 helicopters in that zone worked for the second day - they landed, took off, circled ... and since they did not return to the base, they did not change the identification codes, they were all "91" ... It was through this search zone that Rust passed on "Tsesna", and in the Moscow Air Defense District was mistaken for one of these helicopters.
And he sat down on Vasilyevsky Spusk, and not on Red Square, it's nearby, but not quite that.
I don’t know about trolleybus wires, but the fact that a couple of months before that Gorbachev had requested ALL documents on the deployment of air defense systems in the European part of the Union from the Commander-in-Chief of Air Defense ... and these are top-secret documents ... he ordered to keep them ... THIS IT WAS FORBIDDEN TO DO (leaving documents of this level outside the commander-in-chief's safe), but Humpback insisted and ... the next day, when the commander-in-chief came for them ... the documents disappeared.
And they were not found.
Gorbachev sent not even a copy, but the ORIGINAL of the entire air defense deployment with the transition schedules to London.
Whose agent (MI-6) he was from his student years.

And then the Rust factor allowed to completely change the top of the army from the Minister of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief of Air Defense ... all those who could prevent this ghoul from surrendering the Country to the enemies.
Rust is an iconic figure in our history.
Not by his own importance, but by how he was beaten by the special services and traitors to the Motherland.

[Avior]

On the front lines in a massive offensive and in the immediate rear of the advancing
So they were going to use it as planned

[Zaurbek]

Gold is quoted in dollars. The dollar is printed in the United States.

[cniza]

Each such case is more expensive than the weight equivalent of a nuclear bomb in gold

The United States cannot sell them, which means they will squeeze money out for something else ...

[rocket757]

Hi
The stripes should remind their ally how much it costs them to defend freedom and democracy around the world ...
They will milk the allies to the fullest!

[cniza]

Good time!

And whoever comes to the presidency will only strengthen the milking ...

[rocket757]

Quote: cniza

Good time!

And whoever comes to the presidency will only strengthen the milking ...

This is a postulate that has already been finally and forever established!
Moreover, striped whales really like it!

[cniza]

So otherwise they cannot exist ...

[Egoza]

Quote: cniza

The USA cannot sell them,

Who said? If you can't, but you really want to ... make money, then you can. They will ask someone! Imagine an advertisement on TV "A bomb is on sale along with an airplane! Free funeral! Coffin, fireworks in an explosion - All inclusive"

[cniza]

The United States, of course, can do anything, but it will only start later, they themselves will not be happy ...

[nobody75]

I don’t understand anything! How will the carrier get out of the blow? Level flight bombing? Is the F - 35 capable of cobreeding bombing?
Sincerely

[Vol4ara]

Quote: nobody75

I don’t understand anything! How will the carrier get out of the blow? Level flight bombing? Is the F - 35 capable of cobreeding bombing?
Sincerely

Uh, for example - fly away

[Egoza]

Quote: nobody75

How will the carrier get out of the blow? Level flight bombing?

Well, then this is definitely for Japan, for their kamikaze.

[grandfather_Kostya]

On afterburner in 42 seconds, he will have time to fly 21 km or so. The bomb is not "Kuzkina's mother", there must be enough distance for its safety.

[nobody75]

The pilot will still live ... for a while. And the electronics?
Sincerely

[grandfather_Kostya]

It was a drop from 3 km, if you drop from 6 km it will fall longer. And electronics is not our concern.

[nobody75]

I'm probably too old-fashioned ... I always thought that a tactical "boom" is to be thrown by IB from cobranding. And leave on afterburner, performing the "idiot's loop". Throwing the product shown in the video is not an option, because of the missiles that spin it for some kind of trick. I suspect that the Americans want to use such bombing against missile silos (preferably not empty). In this regard, the concept of the first disarming strike using unobtrusive UAVs is seen. I think the penguin is just being used for testing.
Sincerely

[grandfather_Kostya]

I like more (not mine) the idea of ​​using bombers with free-falling bombs for the second strike after suppressing anti-aircraft defenses in the search for unfinished objects. You never know, the cruise missile did not reach the hydroelectric power station or the ballistic warhead was intercepted, etc.

[nobody75]

I don't think so ... If during the first strike the missile silo was not destroyed or critically damaged, then by the time the penguin approaches, it will already be empty. If a cruise missile from a nuclear warhead did not reach the dam, then the object air defense is there safe and sound ...
Sincerely

[grandfather_Kostya]

Object air defense may not be able to cope with stealth. I myself live 7 km from a hydroelectric power station with a shipping lock and I don't want any air defense bomb nearby.

[nobody75]

Sorry for the personal question, where is this mess?
Sincerely

[grandfather_Kostya]

A military secret. "Radio game with Müller".

[nobody75]

So the Volgograd region ...
Sincerely

[evgen1221]

Well, the fact that the penguin kicks will make Yao carry doubts and it was not. Yao is an unnaturally expensive pleasure. And dumping together yao, radar detector and the usual ones for guaranteed withdrawal of air defense from the game is quite a sensible idea and they implemented it. The reason for the answer is serious. Within the framework of the first disarming strike with acceptable losses for themselves (and they realize that the states themselves have too much population) is a very serious step.

[O. Bender]

Free-falling aerial bombs are weapons of the third wave, when ICBM strikes are delivered, including on control points. The control of the air defense system is partially or completely disrupted, it is not possible or extremely difficult to raise aircraft to intercept.

[rotmistr60]

the bomb has already become more expensive than gold

So they will squeeze out of some allies their desire to return at least a little of their sovereignty in exchange for a bomb.

[Alexey RA]

Thanks to the inertial navigation system, it is possible to target the bomb via GPS communication.

This, excuse me, how? How does an INS make it possible to aim a bomb using GPS, especially GPS connections?

[Old26]

Quote: Sentinel-vs

If a bomb, then expect to use in the absence of countermeasures of the enemy's air defense?
I wonder who is considered as an enemy in this case.

Anyone. In particular, the use of nuclear bombs was also envisaged against the Soviet Union.

Quote: Pereira

Why, then, was the top of the army removed? Did you exceed the budget when feeding?
And further. It was a long time ago. I don’t remember trolley buses running on Red Square.

There weren't any trolleybus lines there. If there were trams on Vasilievsky Spusk, it was only in the 30s ...

Quote: grandfather_Kostya

On afterburner in 42 seconds, he will have time to fly 21 km or so. The bomb is not "Kuzkina's mother", there must be enough distance for its safety.

Taking into account the power of the EMNIP bomb of 50 kt, this is more than enough to escape from the impact. How next? How "the suit will fall"

[outsider]

Quote: Sentinel-vs

If a bomb, then expect to use in the absence of countermeasures of the enemy's air defense?

- Use when suppressing enemy air defense.

[outsider]

Quote: Alexey RA

Thanks to the inertial navigation system, it is possible to target the bomb via GPS communication.

This, excuse me, how? How does an INS make it possible to aim a bomb using GPS, especially GPS connections?

- The bomb is flying according to the INS, with a periodic correction of the INS by GPS.

[outsider]

Quote: nobody75

I'm probably too old-fashioned ... I always thought that a tactical "boom" is to be thrown by IB from cobranding. And leave on afterburner, performing the "idiot's loop".

- This can be done by the F-22, accelerating to 2.4M at an altitude of 15 km and creating a pitching angle of 45 ° (this bomb is also included in its bomb bay).

Throwing the product shown in the video is not an option, because of the missiles that spin it for some kind of trick.

- Of course not because of the missiles (he carried this bomb in his compartment with missiles on the bomb!), But because of its insufficient speed and operating height.

I suspect that the Americans want to use such bombing against missile silos (preferably not empty).

- Against anything. The missile silos are too far in the interior of Russia for the F-35 to reach them. For this there are B-1B and B-2 (in the short term B-21).

[nobody75]

Of course not because of the missiles (he was carrying this bomb in his compartment with rockets on the bomb!)

Why would a bomb, with GPS trajectory correction, be unwound in flight?

This can be done by the F-22, accelerating to 2.4M at an altitude of 15 km and creating a pitching angle of 45 ° (this bomb is also included in its bomb bay).

Excuse me, how do you imagine the trajectory of such a bomb? I repeat, why should a bomb with an INS and GPS correction be unrolled in flight during pitching bombing?
Sincerely

[outsider]

- As far as I understand, it spins only at the very last kilometers of the trajectory, - they say, to ensure a more accurate hit on the target due to its stabilization (gyroscopic effect). Naturally, if the F-22 throws a similar bomb 200 km away from a pitching at high altitude and at high supersonic, then these micro-missiles on the bomb are turned on anyway only 5 kilometers before it reaches the target ...