First production unit of B61-13 gravity bomb could be out this month: NNSA exec

Teresa Robbins, acting head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, said on Capitol Hill Wednesday that the first production unit of the B61-13 gravity bomb is “anticipated” to be complete later this month.

In testimony to the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Robbins said the program was “almost a full year ahead of schedule.”

According to the 2025 Stockpile Stewardship Management Plan (SSMP), which the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) released in October, the B61-13’s first production unit was originally planned for fiscal 2026. 

The SSMP also projects the B61-13 will finish production in fiscal year 2028. 

An NNSA spokesperson told Fox News in April that the agency will complete the first production unit of the B61-13 by fiscal 2025 and “significantly” ahead of schedule. The spokesperson attributed the accelerated delivery to “leveraging manufacturing processes from the related B61-12 program, whose final unit was completed in 2024, and implementing a range of technical innovations to optimize production.” Robbins reiterated in the hearing that an “existing production line” was used.

The B61 family of bombs is currently deployed from the U.S. Air Force and NATO bases, NNSA said. The gravity bomb itself is the oldest in the U.S. arsenal, with over 50 years of service.