New bomb, no mission

Abstract

The cold war may be over, but the nuclear arms race has not quite ended. The United States is fielding a new nuclear weapon-a bomb that was used to threaten Libya, a non-nuclear nation, even before it was deployed. The B61 {open_quotes}mod-11{close_quotes} gravity bomb is the first nuclear capability added to the US arsenal since 1989. It was developed and deployed secretly, without public or congressional debate, and in apparent contradiction to official domestic and international assurances that no new nuclear weapons were being developed in the United States. The B61-11`s unique earth-penetrating characteristic and wide range of yields allow it to threaten otherwide indestructible targets from the air-or, in Pentagonese, to hold such targets {open_quotes}at risk.{close_quotes} That makes the B61-11 a uniquely useful warfighting tool. The 1,200-pound B61-11 replaces the B53, a 8,900-pound, nine-megaton bomb that was developed as a {open_quotes}city buster{close_quotes} and was later designated as a substitute for an earth-penetrating weapon. The B53 was deliverable only by vulnerable B-52s; in contrast, the smaller and lighter B61-11 can be delivered the the stealthier B-2A bomber, or even by F16 fighters.