The F-35 is one step closer to carrying nuclear bombs. What’s next?

By Rachel S. Cohen Oct 27, 11:21 PM

An F-35A Lightning II carrying a B61-12 Joint Test Assembly sits on the flight line at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Sept. 21, 2021. Two F-35A Lightning II aircraft released B61-12 Joint Test Assemblies during the first full weapon system demonstration, completing the final flight test exercise of the nuclear design certification process. (Airman 1st Class Zachary Rufus/Air Force)

America’s most advanced fighter jet is on its way to becoming the newest addition to the nuclear arsenal.

The Air Force recently wrapped up the flight testing needed to ensure the B61-12 thermonuclear bomb design is compatible with the F-35A Lightning II, paving the way for the jet to begin carrying nuclear weapons. The airframe must still become certified to conduct nuclear operations as well.

Two F-35As launched realistic test versions of the B61-12 for the first time on an unspecified date earlier this year at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, the Air Force said Oct. 6. Past versions of the B61 have relied on gravity to drop onto their targets, but the newest design can also hit coordinates using digital guidance.

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The B61-12 is a refurbished, consolidated version of earlier gravity bombs that will offer four blast options measuring from 0.3 to 50 kilotons — more than double the estimated yield of “Fat Man,” the larger of two nuclear bombs the U.S. dropped in Japan in 1945.

The U.S. plans to produce 480 B61-12s from fiscal 2022-2025 and phase out those with much higher yields. Experts estimate the U.S. now owns 680 B61s in total, including 230 for non-strategic platforms like fighters.https://ift.tt/31an2xu

The F-35′s atomic ambitions are a piece of the country’s nuclear modernization plan — slated to cost $634 billion from 2021 to 2030 alone — that flies under the radar.

America’s nuclear stockpile is typically referred to as the “nuclear triad” of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, air-launched cruise missiles and gravity bombs and submarine-fired missiles. But that’s only part of the larger picture.

Fighter and attack aircraft have been equipped and trained for the dual conventional-nuclear role since the 1950s, when the concept originated to deter or fight back against a Russian nuclear attack on NATO.

They are left out of the nuclear triad thanks to a Cold War-era quirk, said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists.https://ift.tt/31an2xu

During the standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Pentagon split the nuclear arsenal between regional combatant commanders, who controlled so-called “tactical” nuclear weapons with shorter ranges and less explosive energy like the B61 and Tomahawks, and U.S. Strategic Command, which has jurisdiction over longer-range, more powerful submarines, bombers and weapons like ICBMs.

When the Cold War ended, regional commanders retained control of tactical bombs and fighter jets designed to carry both nuclear and conventional munitions. That means dual-capable fighters remain in the hands of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, and Air Force Global Strike Command now handles the strategic inventory of bombers and non-gravity weapons with STRATCOM.

It remains to be seen whether that arrangement will last.

“The new B61-12 bomb will replace all gravity bombs, whether tactical or strategic. Same weapons on tactical and strategic aircraft,” Kristensen said. “Will the stockpile plan still continue the distinction between tactical and strategic?”https://ift.tt/31an2xu

Older aircraft — the F-15E Strike Eagles and F-16C/D Fighting Falcons — currently fill the dual-capable role and will be able to carry the B61-12, too. Bringing the F-35A into the mix gives the Air Force a fast, stealthy option for getting nuclear weapons past modern air defenses. It will eventually replace the older jets as the primary nuclear-capable fighter.

The F-35 will remain in the inventory longer than the B-2 Spirit bomber, the main stealth aircraft flying nuclear missions now. But it’s still unclear how many Lightning II jets will take on the new role, and the Air Force hasn’t said when it expects the F-35A to officially make that change.

“Not all aircraft will become nuclear-capable upon full certification,” the Air Force said. “Only those units with a nuclear mission will be given the hardware and manpower necessary to configure and maintain nuclear-capable F-35s.”

That could include RAF Lakenheath in England and Aviano Air Base in Italy, Kristensen said.

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