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THE B61-13 WAS DEVELOPED AT A PLANT IN AMARILLO, TEXAS AND IS 'ESSENTIAL FOR TRUMP'S MISSION FOR PEACE' - HOWEVER, IT IS SET TO BE RESERVED FOR US MILITARY USE ONLY 17:55, 20
May 2025Updated 17:56, 20 May 2025 The Trump administration has boasted that their latest nuclear bomb is ready a full year ahead of schedule, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE).
The lethal B61-13 was developed at a plant in Texas and offers a 'higher maximum yield' - essentially a bigger explosion upon impact - and can penetrate fortified targets, even
deep underground, with more precision. A statement from Secretary of Energy Chris Wright yesterday (May 19) said that the "milestone" weapon is key to delivering Trump's
mission for peace. “[The] Pantex Plant has completed the first production unit of the B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb – designed to strengthen the flexibility and credibility of America’s
nuclear deterrent. "This major milestone for America’s nuclear stockpile was completed a year ahead of schedule!” Modernizing America’s nuclear stockpile is essential to delivering
President Trump’s peace through strength agenda." He then went on to gush over the "remarkable speed" and "ingenuity of our scientists and engineers and the urgency we
face to fortify deterrence in a volatile new age." In a move that can effectively been seen as flexing the nation's muscles, Wright warned: "This achievement signals American
strength to our adversaries and allies alike.” Pantex, where US nuclear weapons are developed and made, is overseen by the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Article
continues below Teresa Robbins, NNSA’s Acting Administrator, said: “Decades of B61 design and qualification data gave NNSA’s program managers and engineers from the national laboratories
and production plants confidence that they could accept calculated risks to speed production." Despite the classification of exact figures, the US government said that the maximum yield
of the B61-13 will be in line with the previous B61-7 version it is in line to supersede. The highest yield setting of the latter is reportedly between 340 and 360 kilotons, according to
The War Zone. For comparison, the infamous Little Boy bomb that the US dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945 - killing more than 100,000 people - had a yield of around 15 kilotons. The B61-7
is one of the most powerful nuclear gravity bombs the US has at the moment. The B61-12 could be used by NATO allies if a sharing agreement was authorised. However, the new B61-13 will be
reserved for US military use only. The new weapon comes as China has continued to expand its underground military infrastructure. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has constructed
huge new fields of new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos in recent years. Article continues below On top of this are new subterranean commands and control facilities. Plus, an
underground submarine base and numerous airfields with big hardened hangars. Elsewhere, North Korea and Iran have also been pursuing deep-underground military facilities tied to their
nuclear and long-range ballistic missile programs. However, the B61-13 is not expected to be able to hold every single deeply buried targets at risk. Russia’s Kosvinsky Kamen, a key
component of its nuclear command and control enterprise that is under a mountain, is thought to have spurred on the US's latest nuclear weapon. FOR THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS AND STORIES
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