[D66] Spy vs Spy: betrapt

[René Oudeweg]

Deze globemaster kwam een update van de B61 kernbom brengen.
De B61-13 Gravity bom.


https://youtu.be/Vyy1nb8BByA
  11-04-'25. Arrival Amerikaanse C-17 op vliegbasis Volkel.
Volkel spotter  Runway  24


--

  newsweek.com
What Are B61-12 Gravity Bombs—Russia Says U.S. 'Lowering Nuclear Threshold'
Giulia Carbonaro
5–6 minutes

By


NATO bases in Europe are set to receive upgraded B61-12 air-dropped 
gravity bombs in December, U.S. officials told NATO allies during a 
closed-door meeting in Brussels this month.

According to Politico this is months ahead of the original schedule that 
would have seen the weapons delivered next spring.

Russia reacted by saying that Moscow will take the move into account in 
its military planning, with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander 
Grushko announcing that the decision to accelerate the deployment of the 
upgraded bomb lowers the "nuclear threshold."

"We cannot ignore the plans to modernize nuclear weapons, those 
free-fall bombs that are in Europe," Grushko told state RIA news agency.

"The United States is modernizing them, increasing their accuracy and 
reducing the power of the nuclear charge, that is, they turn these 
weapons into 'battlefield weapons', thereby reducing the nuclear 
threshold," Grushko added.

The B61-12 is a modernized version of the B61, a family of thermonuclear 
gravity bombs that has been part of the U.S. military stockpile since 
1968. The upgrading of the gravity bomb has been in the works for many 
years now, and the project has been described as the most expensive 
nuclear bomb project ever.

The 12-foot B61-12 bomb carries a 50 kilotons warhead—the equivalent of 
50,000 tons of TNT—and is extremely precise, thanks to a controlled tail 
rudder which also allows for the removal of its parachute. Because of 
this tool, pilots do not have to fly exactly over targets to drop the bomb.

     The U.S. will deploy upgraded B61-12 tactical nuclear bombs in 
Europe earlier than planned. They will be brought this December, and not 
in 2023, - Politico pic.twitter.com/9h1JX2Rass
     — M|§F|T 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@am_misfit) October 27, 2022

Military magazine The National Interest has described the B61-12 as "the 
most dangerous nuclear weapon in America's arsenal" for its versatility 
rather than for its nuclear yield, which is lower than others. The B83 
nuclear bomb, by comparison, has a maximum yield of 1.2 megatons, or 
1,200 kilotons.

The combination of accuracy and low-yield that characterizes the B61-12 
gravity bomb is what makes it the most usable nuclear bomb in America's 
arsenal, the magazine said, adding that "accuracy is the most important 
determinate of a nuclear weapon's lethality."

Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told Politico that the 
accelerated deployment of the B61-12 gravity bomb "is in no way linked 
to current events in Ukraine and was not sped up in any way," but the 
move comes at a time of heightened tensions over Russia's nuclear 
threats, and it brings its own risk of escalating a situation already 
under strain.

At the moment, the U.S. has some 200 deployed working tactical nuclear 
weapons, according to Reuters, half of which are deployed in allies' 
bases in Belgium, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey. Russia, on 
the other hand, is estimated to have around 2,000 such weapons.

According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), Russia and the 
U.S. currently own approximately 90 percent of all nuclear warheads, 
with each having around 4,000 warheads in their military stockpiles.

Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Department of Defense and Russia's 
defense ministry for comment.
Cluster bomb in Ukraine
U.S. officials confirmed NATO allies' bases in Europe will received the 
upgraded B61-12 gravity bomb in December. In this photo, a man poses for 
a picture standing next to the remains of a missile that... Scott 
Olson/Getty Images