The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) acknowledged the third test of 2017 for components of the updated B61-12 gravity bomb the agency is developing as part of the $1-trillion-plus U.S. nuclear modernization program.
The two qualification flights took place Nov. 7 and Nov. 8 at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, NNSA wrote in a press release Monday. An Air Force F-15E from nearby Nellis Air Force Base dropped the non-nuclear test assemblies.
This was the third such flight test for the B61-12 hardware in 2017. The second took place in August, the first in March.
The B61-12 program is intended to extend the life of the B61 gravity bomb for 20 years at an estimated cost of $8.1 billion. It will replace four variants of the existing bomb. The first production unit scheduled for delivery by March 2020.