US plans to build new 'nuclear gravity bomb' 24 times powerful than Hiroshima nuke
B61-13 will replace the 1980s era B61-7, the US department said in a press release published on October 27, 2023. Gravity bombs work by being pulled to the ground by the force of gravity instead of flying to the target on a powered missile, New York City-based Vice News reported. In this case, a bomber or an aircraft flies over the target and drops the bomb.
"These bombs do not consist of a guidance system and, hence, follow a ballistic trajectory," Eurasian Times reported. ALSO READ: A new nuclear arms race looms The B61-13 will be the latest in a long line of B61 variants. The US Department of Defence said the B61-13 will replace some of the B61-7s in the current stockpile.
It will have a yield similar to the B61-7, which is higher than that of the B61-12, stated the factsheet shared by the US department. The factsheet added that the B61-13 will include the modern safety, security, and accuracy features of the B61-12. ALSO READ: India prioritising longer-range nuclear weapon that can reach China; Pakistan remains primary focus: Report "The new bomb (B61-13) will have the same yield as the old (B61-7) which is estimated to be 360 kilotons, roughly 24 times bigger than the blast that destroyed Hiroshima," Vice reported.
The two bombs that the US dropped on Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II in 1945 were significantly less powerful. "The Hiroshima bomb was of about 15 kilotons – that is, of 15 thousand tonnes (or kilotons) of TNT equivalent – and that at Nagasaki was of 25 kilotons (ca. 65 and 105 GJ respectively)," according to the World Nuclear Association.
According to a report, the maximum yield of the B61-12 is 50 kilotons. The warhead reportedly had options, including 0.3kt, 1.5kt, 10kt, and 50kt. In
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