Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has shown off the United States’ latest nuclear weapon as full production begins seven months ahead of schedule. The B61-13 variable-yield gravity bomb is part of a major program to modernize the American nuclear deterrent.
Nuclear weapons may seem like a relic of the Cold War that isn’t very pleasant to think about, but the are still front and center when it comes to geopolitics.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, cuts to the American and Russian arsenals have drastically reduced the number of combined warheads on alert from a high of between 8,000 and 9,000 to only about 1,800 combined, which includes both strategic and tactical weapons. However, nuclear deterrence has become much more complex as rogue states have striven to acquire atom bombs and China has gone from having an “arsenal in being” with a handful of warheads kept in storage to an estimated 24 weapons on alert as it moves to a more nuclear-centered strategy.
Because of this, the US has embarked on a program to extend the life of and to modernize its nuclear arsenal to make sure it remains safe and reliable as well as being able to counter the threats of the 21st century.
Hellbound and Down 