Washington DC [US], November 16 : The United States has successfully concluded a series of critical stockpile flight tests of its B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb carried by the stealth F-35A fighter jet, the US Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories stated on Thursday.
As per the reports released by the lab, the test was conducted from August 19 to August 21 at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada with support from Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
The tests saw inert units of the B61-12 successfully released from the F-35A aircraft, confirming the end-to-end performance of the aircraft, aircrew, and weapon under operational conditions.
The US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories, described the trials as the only B61-12 stockpile flight tests using joint test assemblies on the F-35 platform this year.
These tests represent a critical step in evaluating the operational readiness of the weapon and its delivery platform.
The B61-12, part of the US nuclear arsenal since its development, recently underwent a multiyear life extension programme completed by NNSA in late 2024, extending its service life by at least 20 years. The successful tests validate the bomb's compatibility with the F-35, an advanced stealth fighter, and reaffirm its reliability for future nuclear missions.
The life extension programme addresses all known age-related concerns found within the nation's stockpile of B61 weapons, upgrades encryption algorithms, modernises the safety and use-control features of the weapon and supports compatibility with future aircraft designs, as per Sandia National Laboratories.
The refurbished B61-12's full-scale production started in May, with completion expected in 2026.
"These B61-12 F-35A stockpile flight tests and captive carry flight test were the capstone accomplishment of a tremendous amount of planning and effort by those who were involved across not only Sandia, but many other agencies," said Sandia's Jeffrey Boyd, surveillance lead for the B61-12 and B61-13.
"In addition, these B61-12 stockpile flight tests represent the completion of the most B61-12 flight testing surveillance scope in a year to date and the most in a given year for the foreseeable future," he added.
Beyond the successful flight tests, the series included the first-ever thermal preconditioning of a joint test assembly for carriage on the F-35. This preconditioning process, which involved testing the bomb under extreme conditions before release, ensured that the B61-12 met environmental standards required for real-world deployment.
An advancement to the B61 nuclear gravity bomb, deployed from the US Air Force and North Atlantic Treaty Organization bases since 1968, the B61-12 is a modification of the B61 and has an extended service life of at least 20 years.
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