The US National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has authorized the beginning of the technological preparation for the production of a modernized nuclear B61-12 bomb.

The report posted on the NNSA website says that this decision marks the beginning of the final stage of development which will be followed by the direct production. The NNSA also announced that the first sample of the weapons would be released in 2020.

It is known that the test of the B61-12 was carried out on the test ground Tonopah in Nevada, using a fighter-bomber F-15i, on October 20, 2015.

The B61 bomb exists in four different versions (B61-3, -4, -7 and -10). All of them are to be replaced with one, the B61-12. It will differ from its predecessor by the absence of the parachute and the presence of a new tail section with an inertial guidance system increasing the accuracy of the application.

The development of the weapon is carried out in the framework of the policy of US President Barack Obama on updating the nuclear force, which, according to the Pentagon calculations, will cost between 350 and 450 billion dollars over the next 10 years.

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