US in pursuit of B61 nuclear bomb, slammed for ‘running in place’

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
31 Oct 2023 09:37

A Congressional committee warns that the current state of US nuclear strategy needs a "dramatic transformation" amid the arms race with China and Russia.

The 72nd Test and Evaluation Squadron test-loads an unarmed B61-12 bomb on a B-2 Spirit bomber on June 13, 2022 (US Air Force)

The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced last week the development of a new variant of the B61 nuclear gravity bomb, the B61-13, as the massive security investment in Ukraine to damage Russia's military capabilities seems to have failed.

In a statement, the DOD said this measure aims to respond to the demands of a rapidly evolving security environment as described in the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, adding that the bomb's production and delivery will be overseen by the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

However, the move has sparked criticism from the US House Committee on Armed Services, which has raised concerns that the state of US nuclear policy is “running in place," particularly in the face of escalating arms races with Russia and China.

Earlier this month, President Vladimir Putin warned that the Russian parliament could revoke its ratification and agreement of the treaty banning nuclear tests while announcing that the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile has been developed and production will begin soon.

During a speech at a forum of foreign policy experts, Putin recalled that the US signed but did not ratify the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, as opposed to Russia, adding that the country can “mirror the stand taken by the US."

“Theoretically, we may revoke the ratification," he added.

Last week, Russia's nuclear deterrence forces carried out a strategic exercise, which saw a ground launch of a nuclear-capable Yars intercontinental ballistic missile and the launch of a nuclear-capable Sineva from a submarine.

The B61-13 would be deliverable by modern aircraft, strengthening deterrence of adversaries and assurance of allies and partners by providing the President with additional options against certain harder and large-area military targets, the US DoD statement added.

The major project's announcment follows a significant milestone in December 2020 when the B61-12 was successfully test-dropped from an F-35 aircraft, marking the first-ever release from an internal bomb bay at supersonic speeds. The B61-12 was designed to replace all other gravity bombs to reduce the nuclear stockpile by 50 percent and "save a substantial amount of money," according to a report by the Federation of American Scientists.

In response to these developments, the House Committee on Armed Services issued a statement on October 27, with the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, US Representative Mike Rogers, and the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, US Senator Roger F. Wicker, welcoming the introduction of the B61-13.

They said the step of creating a variant of the B61 will better "allow the Air Force to reach hardened and deeply-buried targets." However, the senior officials stressed that this is a "short-term solution" and what is required is a "dramatic transformation of our deterrent posture – not incremental or piecemeal changes – is required to address" what they called the threat of the arms race with China and Russia.

“The B61-13 represents a reasonable step to manage the challenges of a highly dynamic security environment,” said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb. “While it provides us with additional flexibility, production of the B61-13 will not increase the overall number of weapons in our nuclear stockpile.”

"Nuclear weapons have been made to ensure our security in the broadest sense of the word and the existence of the Russian state, but we...have no such need [to use them]," Putin said back in July after announcing the transfer of nuclear warheads to Belarus.

Nuclear redeployment

Two squadrons of US-made F-35A jets, equipped with the capability to conduct nuclear strikes, were scheduled to arrive at the US-rented Lakenheath base in the United Kingdom in August, according to a recent report by The Telegraph citing a defense source.

The Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), Melissa Parke, said evidence suggests that the United States is planning to redeploy 100 units of its nuclear arsenal, currently stationed in five NATO countries, to the UK.

The data collected by the ICAN shows that global spending on nuclear weapons increased to $82.9 billion in 2022, with the US spending more than all other nuclear powers combined.