The F-35 Lightning II was utilized in August 2025 to efficiently consider three B61-12 check property throughout a multi-day check marketing campaign.
Sandia Nationwide Laboratories and the Nationwide Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) simply disclosed {that a} B61-12 stockpile flight check marketing campaign came about in August 2025. The profitable testing was carried out at Tonopah Check Vary, Nevada, with help and plane era from Hill Air Drive Base, Utah.
Stockpile Flight Check
Sandia says the exams had been carried out on Aug. 19-21, and noticed three inert models of the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb had been efficiently carried and dropped by an F-35 throughout that timeframe. A photograph and video launched along with the assertion present the F-35 carrying two B61-12s in its weapon bays, though it’s unclear if a twin drop was additionally carried out.
The company says the check yielded constructive outcomes as plane and marking “a major milestone in evaluating the weapon’s efficiency.” This milestone follows a multiyear life extension program for the B61 accomplished by the NNSA in late 2024 with the manufacturing of the B61-12 Final Manufacturing Unit (LPU), which allowed to increase the bomb’s service life by not less than 20 years.
These had been “the one B61-12 stockpile flight exams of joint check assemblies on an F-35 plane, solidifying the end-to-end reliability of the plane, crews and weapon system throughout missions.” Stockpile flight testing is a part of the NNSA’s stockpile surveillance and evaluation, and makes use of Joint Check Assemblies that take away the nuclear bundle and substitute it with telemetry programs to make sure the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile stays secure, safe, and efficient.
Moreover, the exams additionally included “the first-ever thermal preconditioning of a joint check meeting for carriage on an F-35 plane previous to its launch, validating B61-12 environmental necessities in a real-world mixed atmosphere.” Actually, as proven within the video, the B61-12 JTA was transported in a particular container linked to an environmental management system.
“These B61-12 F-35A stockpile flight exams and captive carry flight check had been the capstone accomplishment of an incredible quantity of planning and energy by those that had been concerned throughout not solely Sandia, however many different companies,” mentioned Sandia’s Jeffrey Boyd, surveillance lead for the B61-12 and B61-13. “As well as, these B61-12 stockpile flight exams characterize the completion of essentially the most B61-12 flight testing surveillance scope in a 12 months so far and essentially the most in a given 12 months for the foreseeable future.”
Tonopah Check Vary’s Supervisor Brian Adkins oversaw the exams on the vary and praised the work of the group concerned. “Expedient coordination by your entire check group resulted in two profitable days of testing to judge three check property,” Adkins mentioned.
The B61-12
A variable yield design, with reported yields between 0.3 and 340 kilotons, the B61 is an air-delivered household of tactical nuclear weapons developed by the USA since December 1962 in 14 iterations. The B61-0, the primary model, began manufacturing in 1967, and since then round 3,155 B61 bombs have been produced, with an estimated 540 in service and 415 in reserve in 2012.
Round 400 B61-12 had been then deliberate, transformed from earlier B61-4 (a model that began manufacturing in 1979) and utilizing parts from older warheads, to serve alongside the round 50 B61-11 bunker buster nuclear weapons. The weapon was deliberate to grow to be the one remaining gravity delivered nuke within the stock, not less than till the B61-13 was introduced.
Initially an unguided weapon, the fundamental B61 had a streamlined casing 11 ft and eight inches lengthy (3.56m) and a diameter of 13 inches (33 cm) capable of stand up to supersonic flight. Weighting round 700 kilos (simply over 300 kg), the B61 was designed to be carried by tactical airplanes of america Air Drive and of NATO companion nations, because of the NATO Nuclear Weapons Sharing Program.
The upgraded weapon carries a low-yield nuclear warhead with 4 yield choices and is delivered in both ballistic or guided-gravity drop modes, because of a brand new Boeing-built tail meeting that features an Inertial Navigation System (INS) precision-guidance bundle and two spin rocket motors.
The guided tail-kit meeting permits each enhancing the accuracy and gifting the B61 with some standoff vary. Reportedly, the B61-11 has an accuracy of 110-170 meters, whereas the guided B61-12 cuts it right down to solely 30 meters, making it attainable to make use of a lower-yield warhead.
The U.S. Air Drive licensed its B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, B-52 Stratofortress, F-16 Combating Falcon and F-15E Strike Eagle to hold the unique B61, together with the Navy F/A-18 Hornet and the since retired A-6 Intruder, A-4 Skyhawk, and F-111. The F-16s, in addition to whereas the German and Italian Panavia Twister, are additionally licensed to hold the B61 for varied NATO companion nations.
In 2020, the F-15E Strike Eagle turned the primary plane licensed to hold the B61-12, later adopted by the F-35A Lightning II after which by the B-2 Spirit, the F-16 Combating Falcon and the German Air Drive Panavia Twister. In line with NNSA, work is underway to combine the B61-12 on the Italian Air Drive’s Panavia Twister and the U.S. Air Drive’s incoming B-21 stealth bomber.
The B61-12 LEP manufacturing
Sandia mentioned the B61-12 Final Manufacturing Unit (LPU) of the Life Extension Program (LEP) was accomplished on Dec. 18, 2024, though the announcement solely arrived on Jan. 7, 2025. Sania then introduced on Feb. 20, 2025 the conclusion of the manufacturing of the B61-12, switching to sustainment of the stock and the manufacturing of spare parts till 2026.
Earlier in 2024, the NNSA additionally disclosed the completion of the manufacturing of the trainers used to certify Air Drive personnel and bases previous to supply of the particular weapon programs. Trainers give Airmen the important means to familiarize themselves with loading the weapon on supply platforms, in addition to sustaining the weapon, mentioned the company. This system produced 3 totally different Kind 3 Coach variations with a complete construct of greater than 100 army coaching weapons.
The First Manufacturing Unit (FPU) of the B61-12 was delivered in 2021, with full-rate manufacturing beginning a 12 months later. The NNSA additionally talked about in earlier studies that the LEP was anticipated to finish manufacturing and shut out in FY2026.
“Finishing the B61-12 on schedule is the newest instance of what we’ve been saying for a number of years now: NNSA is delivering capabilities on the tempo and scale wanted by our Division of Protection companions and our deterrence necessities,” NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby mentioned within the announcement.
This system permits to proceed to guarantee the security, safety, and effectiveness of the weapon, in addition to consolidated and changed the -3, -4, -7, and -10 B61 variants. “The B61-12 LEP, which is essential to sustaining the Nation’s air delivered nuclear deterrent functionality, extends the service life by not less than 20 years by way of refurbishing, reusing, or changing all of the bomb’s nuclear and non-nuclear parts,” added the company.
You will need to do not forget that the B61-12 isn’t a “new” weapon within the strict sense of the phrase, because it takes the warheads from the older bombs and places them within the new physique, thus leaving the identical variety of weapons within the nuclear stockpiles. The NNSA says there isn’t any general change in army traits of the weapon, because it balances better accuracy offered by the trendy tail equipment meeting with a considerable discount in yield.
The overall program value of the B61-12 is round $9 billion, with every warhead accordingly having a value of about $22.5 million if we contemplate the preliminary plan to fabricate 400 weapons.
