An American B61-12 bomb (Photo: Reveal).
The Pentagon announced on October 27 that it is pursuing plans to develop a new variant of the B61 bomb, a weapon first produced in the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War.
Weapons in the B61 family are known as "tactical" bombs, unguided weapons designed to explode at targets after being released from aircraft.
The US Department of Defense said the new variant, the B61-13, is needed “to ensure US deterrence and other objectives”.
"The B61-13 will enhance deterrence and assure allies and partners by providing the US president with options against a wide range of difficult military targets," the announcement said.
The Pentagon said the new variant will inherit the "safe, modern, secure and accurate" features of the B61-12 - the closest variant of the B61 produced by the US.
The B61-12 has been equipped with a guided-homing tail unit to improve the weapon's accuracy. Like other nuclear weapons produced by the US since the end of the Cold War, the B61-13 is expected to be built with a warhead repurposed from old bombs.
The Pentagon said the B61-13 will have a "similar" explosive yield to the B61-7 variant, which has a maximum yield of 360 kilotons, according to the Federation of American Scientists .
"The B61-13 will not increase the total number of weapons in the US stockpile," the Pentagon said, emphasizing that when the B61-13 is produced, the US will reduce the number of B61-12s produced accordingly.
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