The Defense Department said that pending congressional approval, it will produce a new nuclear gravity bomb with a warhead yield 24 times larger than the “Little Boy” bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, near the end of World War II.
“The United States has a responsibility to continue to assess and field the capabilities we need to credibly deter and, if necessary, respond to strategic attacks, and assure our allies,” Assistant Defense Secretary for Space Policy John Plumb said last week when the new bomb was announced.
The bomb, known as a B61-13, would replace some of the B61-7 bombs in the U.S. arsenal, and it would have a similar yield to the B61-7s. The bomb would have the same safety and accuracy features of the B61-12 while having a higher yield, according to officials.