https://www.newsweek.com/us-deploys-b61-12-gravity-bombs-europe-tactical-nuclear-weapons-2017485
By: Ellie Cook, Security & Defense Reporter at Newsweek
Upgraded gravity bombs are now stationed at military bases in Europe, the head of the U.S.’s nuclear military science agency has said, after it completed an overhaul of the B61-12 nuclear bomb.
Why It Matters
The B61 family of gravity bombs are tactical nuclear weapons, and several iterations are deployed by the U.S. in Europe. The B61 is the only tactical nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal—the rest are strategic nuclear weapons, which are thought of as the missiles that could level entire cities and threaten major global superpowers.
What To Know
The nearly three years of war against Russia in Ukraine, China’s military buildup, North Korea’s extensive nuclear tests and Iran’s nuclear program have brought fresh attention to nuclear weapons. “The idea of nuclear conflict, once unthinkable, has become a subject of debate,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in fall 2022, several months after the start of the Ukraine war.
