The US has completed assembly of its first B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb, almost a year ahead of its scheduled production and about two years after the program was launched.
Its production timeline was accelerated by more than 25 percent, “while maintaining the highest standards of safety and security, and without disrupting our other six modernization programs,” said Acting Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs David Hoagland.
In addition, its finished assembly follows five months after the US completed a $9-billion upgrade of the B61-12 bombs in service for more than 50 years.
This milestone marks the B61-13 gravity bomb as one of the most rapidly fielded weapons in US history since the Cold War, strengthening Washington’s nuclear deterrence amid global tensions.
NNSA has completed the First Production Unit of the B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb @PantexPlant. This is a major accomplishment for stockpile modernization. Thanks to the entire NNSA team who worked to achieve this milestone nearly a year ahead of schedule.https://t.co/XNlOZsS1JU pic.twitter.com/Y4ETedebz6
— NNSA (@NNSANews) May 19, 2025
“Modernizing America’s nuclear stockpile is essential to delivering President Trump’s peace through strength agenda,” said Secretary of Energy Chris Wright at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas — the country’s main facility for assembling, disassembling, testing, and evaluating nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Hoagland praised the program’s managers and engineers for balancing the “programmatic risk against the urgency of the deterrence mission,” and highlighted that the process can be potentially applied to future weapon modernization efforts.
B61-13 Nuclear Gravity Bomb
As part of the B61 family of nuclear weapons, the B61-13 shares features with the B61-12.
However, it was designed with higher explosive power to destroy tougher and larger military targets, such as hardened underground bunkers or wide-area military facilities that US adversaries like China have been reportedly constructing.
The B61-13 warhead is to be carried exclusively by strategic bomber aircraft, such as the B-2 Spirit and the future B-21 Raider, unlike the other B61 variants that can be launched from a wide range of fighter and bomber aircraft.
In contrast to the B61-12 deployed to US bases in Europe, the B61-13 munition is fielded solely from bases within the continental US.
