USAF F-35 Jet Launches B61-12 Nuclear Bomb from Internal Bay

A mock B61-12 nuclear bomb struck a ground target in the Nevada desert to successfully complete the first flight test with the US Air Force’s F-35 fighter jet, demonstrating the bomb’s first release from an internal bomb bay at supersonic speeds.

During the August 25 flight test, an F-35A flying at supersonic speeds dropped a B61-12 — containing non-nuclear and mock nuclear components — from about 10,500 feet above Tonopah Test Range. The inert B61-12 struck the desert floor in the designated target area about 42 seconds later, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) announced on November 23.

The flight test was the first demonstration of a fully instrumented B61-12 release from an internal bomb bay on a fighter and the first such release at speeds of Mach 1 or greater, said Steven Samuels, a manager with Sandia’s B61-12 Systems Team.

“This was the first test to exercise all systems, including mechanical, electrical, communication and release between the B61-12 and the F-35A,” he said.

The flight test of the B61-12 with the F-35A Lightning II this summer was the first ever at SNL's Tonopah Test Range featuring the fighter jet. It was also the first of a testing series that will conclude with full-weapon systems demonstrations designed to increase confidence the bomb will always work when needed and never under any other circumstances.

In partnership with the National Nuclear Security Administration, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Air Force, Sandia completed a B61-12 full-weapon system demonstration with the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet in March, and another in July with the Air Force’s B-2 Spirit bomber.

“We’re showing the B61-12’s larger compatibility and broader versatility for the country’s nuclear deterrent,” said Samuels. “We’re still moving forward with the B61-12 compatibility activities on different platforms.”

Sandia is the design and engineering lab for non-nuclear components of the nation’s nuclear stockpile, including the B61-12. In addition to non-nuclear component development, Sandia serves as the technical integrator for the complete weapon, assuring the system meets requirements as a full-weapon system.

“We successfully executed this historic, first-ever F-35A flight test at Tonopah Test Range within the specified delivery criteria,” said Brian Adkins, range manager at TTR.

Coordination between Sandia, Los Alamos, the NNSA and the Air Force made the flight test possible, and initial data shows that all systems and interfaces between the refurbished bomb and the F-35A worked as expected.