The B61 bomb,180 of which are stockpiled in Europe, is getting an upgrade which will produce it more “usable” in the eyes of some in the American military
The $8 million upgrade to the US B61 nuclear bomb has been widely condemned as an awful lot of money to spend on an obsolete weapon. As an traditional fashioned ‘dumb’ bomb it has no role in US or NATO nuclear doctrine, and but the upgrade has gone ahead besides,in large part as a result of lobbying by the nuclear weapons laboratories.
In non-proliferation terms however the only thing worse than a useless bomb is a ‘usable’ bomb. Apart from the stratospheric price, the most controversial element of the B61 upgrade is the replacement of the existing rigid tail with one that has moving fins that will produce the bomb smarter and allow it to be guided more accurately to a target. Furthermore, and the yield can be adjusted before launch,according to the target.
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Source: theguardian.com