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A B83 casing. The B83 is a variable-yield thermonuclear gravity bomb developed by the United States in the late 1970s that entered service in 1983. With a maximum yield of 1.2 megatonnes of TNT (5.0 PJ), it has been the most powerful nuclear weapon in the United States nuclear arsenal since October 25, 2011 after retirement of the B53. [1]
The components of a B83 nuclear bomb used by the United States. This is a list of nuclear weapons listed according to country of origin, and then by type within the states. . The United States, Russia, China and India are known to possess a nuclear triad, being capable to deliver nuclear weapons by land, sea and
[1] [4] The bomber can drop conventional and thermonuclear weapons, [5] such as up to eighty 500-pound class (230 kg) Mk 82 JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400-pound (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs. The B-2 is the only acknowledged in-service aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.
The Air Force now has the B-61-12 tactical nuclear bomb ready for operational use on its 20 B-2 Spirit stealth bombers.
With its retirement, the largest bomb currently in service in the U.S. nuclear arsenal is the B83, with a maximum yield of 1.2 megatons. [5] The B53 was replaced in the bunker-busting role by the B61 Mod 11 .
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As of 2013 the Pentagon saw the B83 nuclear bomb as a "relic of the Cold War," believing that deploying a megaton-yield gravity bomb, the highest level nuclear weapon left in the U.S. inventory, to Europe was "inconceivable" at this point. It can also only be carried by the B-2 bomber, and integrating it onto additional aircraft would be costly.
The Air Force now has the B-61-12 tactical nuclear bomb ready for operational use on its 20 B-2 Spirit stealth bombers. The Pentagon's Fancy New Tactical Nuke Is Now on the B-2 Stealth Bomber Skip ...