B61-13 ‘significantly ahead of schedule,’ NNSA tells Fox News

The National Nuclear Security Administration will complete the First Production Unit of the B61-13 this fiscal year, according to Fox News April 9.

With production complete in December for the B61-12 life extension program, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has now transitioned to producing the B61-13 gravity bomb, a new, higher-yield variant of the B61 gravity bomb that would replace older B61-7s in the stockpile.

According to the 2025 Stockpile Stewardship Management Plan (SSMP), which the NNSA released in October, the B61-13’s first production unit was originally planned for fiscal 2026. An NNSA spokesperson told Fox News that the agency will complete the first production unit of the B61-13 by fiscal 2025 and “significantly ahead of schedule.”

The SSMP also projects the B61-13 will finish production in fiscal year 2028.

“One of seven warhead modernization programs to ensure the reliability and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, the B61-13 will provide additional options against certain harder and large-area military targets,” the spokesperson added. “NNSA accelerated delivery of the weapon by leveraging manufacturing processes from the related B61-12 program, whose final unit was completed in 2024, and implementing a range of technical innovations to optimize production.”

The B61 family of bombs is currently deployed from the U.S. Air Force and NATO bases, NNSA said. The gravity bomb itself is the oldest in the U.S. arsenal, with over 50 years of service.