The U.S. Air Force and the National Nuclear Security Administration have completed a pair of qualification flight tests for the B61-12 gravity bombs.
NNSA said Monday an F-15E aircraft carried and dropped the non-nuclear bomb assemblies during the tests held Aug. 8 at Tonopah Test Range in Nevada.
The test flights were conducted as part of a three-year series meant to prepare B61-12 for service.
“The B61-12 life extension program is progressing on schedule to meet national security requirements,†said Phil Calbos, acting deputy administrator for defense programs at NNSA.
NNSA and the Air Force used equipment from the Energy Department‘s Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories, Nuclear Security Enterprise facilities and Boeing.
The first B61-12 production unit is scheduled for March 2020 completion.
