Hi !
I'm just reading this response for you and went on a search for a link. I should have checked the RMN front page first.. HA..
Anyway, I found this link.. Was this the same one???
Dunno
Sus
By David Cenciotti
B-61 inert nuclear gravity bomb has passed first F-16 flight test.
On Mar. 14, an F-16 from the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nevada, dropped a B61-12 over the Nellis Test and Training Range Complex in the first test use of the upgraded B61 with the F-16 aircraft.
The B61-12 represent the latest LEP (Life-Extention Program) upgrade to the B61 line of nuclear weapons that has already been extensively tested with the F-15E Strike Eagles of the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, back in 2015.
The Life Extension Program or LEP, will replace the B61 -3, -4, -7, and -10 mods, with the -12 that, along with the B83, will become the only remaining gravity delivered nukes in the inventory.
“The B61-12 gravity bomb ensures the current capability for the air-delivered leg of the U.S. strategic nuclear triad well into the future for both bombers and dual-capable aircraft supporting NATO,” said Paul Waugh, AFNWC’s Air-Delivered Capabilities director in a U.S. Air Force release dated Apr. 13 (more or less when the world learned about the first use of the famous MOAB in Afghanistan). The B61-12 will be compatible with the B-2A, B-21, F-15E, F-16C/D, F-16 MLU, F-35 and PA-200 aircraft.
https://theaviationist.com/2017/04/14/in-other-news-a-u-s-f-16-has-dropped-an-inert-b61-12-nuclear-bomb-over-nevada-last-month/
------
This is From Yesterday from Kirkland NM Air Force Base..
http://www.robins.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1151365/inert-nuclear-gravity-bomb-passes-first-f-16-flight-test/
An Air Force F-16C dropped an inert B61-12 during a development flight test by the 422nd Flight Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nevada, on March 14, 2017. The test is part of a life-extension program for the bomb to improve its safety, security and reliability. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brandi Hansen)
20
PRINT | E-MAIL
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- An Air Force F-16 aircraft released an inert B61 nuclear bomb in a test recently, demonstrating the aircraft's capability to deliver the weapon and testing the functioning of the weapon's non-nuclear components, including the arming and fire control system, radar altimeter, spin rocket motors and weapons control computer.
The F-16 from the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nevada, released the weapon over the Nellis Test and Training Range Complex in the first test use of the upgraded B61, known as the B61-12, with the F-16 aircraft.
The test was conducted under a life-extension program for the B61, which is refurbishing both its nuclear and non-nuclear components to extend the bomb’s service life, while improving its safety, security and reliability. When completed, the new B61-12 version will replace four versions of the B61 bomb currently in the U.S. nuclear stockpile, streamlining production and logistics.
The B61-12 life-extension program is managed by the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center in conjunction with the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.
--------------------
Then you have RT and others saying this happened today.. Either way, looks like they have been testing for awhile.. ?!?
-------------
US successfully tests new nuclear gravity bomb
As the world’s attention was on the first combat use of the conventional “Mother Of All Bombs,” the US National Nuclear Security Administration announced the successful field test of the modernized gravity nuclear bomb in Nevada.
The NNSA and the US Air Force completed the first qualification flight test of the B61-12 gravity nuclear bomb on March 14 at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, the agency announced on Thursday.
The test was intended to evaluate the weapon’s “non-nuclear functions” and the capability of the F-16 fighter to successfully deploy the bomb. An F-16 fighter from Nellis Air Force Base dropped the “non-nuclear test assembly,” the NNSA said in a statement.
“The successful test provides critical qualification data to validate that the baseline design meets military requirements,” said Brigadier General Michael Lutton, NNSA’s principal assistant deputy administrator for military application. The NNSA is part of the Department of Energy, which is charged with managing US nuclear weapons.
https://www.rt.com/usa/384786-nuclear-bomb-test-nevada/
: "An F-16 fighter from Nellis Air Force Base dropped the
: “non-nuclear test assembly"."
: WHEW!
