Boeing will help to modernize the B61 free-fall ballistic munition by designing a new tail kit under a $178 million contract from the U.S...
The design, development and qualification phase of the B61 (Mod 12) Life Extension Program is expected to run for three years. The program further expands Boeing's Direct Attack weapons portfolio.
B61 (Mod 12) will replace obsolete parts and improve its reliability. Per the contract, Boeing will work with the departments of Defense and Energy on this program.
The B61 is U.S's primary tactical thermonuclear gravity bomb which can be carried aboard a variety of strategic and tactical aircraft including the B-52 and B-2A bombers and the F-16 fighter.
First deployed in 1968, an estimated 3,000 weapons in nine different versions (designed by Los Alamos National Laboratory) were ultimately built, with yields ranging from 0.3-300 kilotons. Seven of these versions remain operational, including the B61-11, deployed in 1997.
