Experts say this new higher-yield nuclear bomb appears intended to pave the way for retiring the older B83 megaton bomb.

US to build new nuclear gravity bomb::Experts say this new higher-yield nuclear bomb appears intended to pave the way for retiring the older B83 megaton bomb.

  • atzanteol@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    12·
    1 year ago

    In a follow-up statement, a Pentagon spokesperson said that will include the B-21 Raider stealth bomber the Air Force now has in development with Northrop Grumman. But the U.S. now does not plan to deploy it on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Pentagon said.

    This feels so out of date to me. We have guided ballistic missiles, drones, etc. Why are we still thinking about dropping an unguided bomb like this from an aircraft with a human in it? It’s >1 megaton ffs - close should be “good enough”?

    • Joker@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      17·
      1 year ago

      Because they can glide a long way and are stealthier without propellant. It’s still a standoff weapon. The B21 is a stone cold killer. It can get in fairly close undetected and drop from high altitude in still relatively safe airspace. The bombs are away without anyone ever knowing it was there. Then you’ve got a stealthy bomb gliding in silently. It probably shows up on radar like a raindrop.

    • grabyourmotherskeys@lemmy.worldEnglish
      161·
      1 year ago

      What happens when someone takes control of the guidance? A bomb dropped from the sky is going to obey the laws of physics and that’s it.

    • thelastknowngod@lemm.eeEnglish
      91·
      1 year ago

      Dispersal of liability if something goes wrong?

      It’s not the ground-based targeting system so that company can’t be sued. It’s not the onboard nav so that company can’t be sued. It’s not the software so that company can’t be sued. It’s not communication latency or interference so we can’t blame it on a bad command decision to push forward without more reliable data points.

      The only thing that will ultimately result in a nuclear weapon being dropped is if the guy with human eyes is looking at the target, makes a judgement call, and pushes the button.

      All that being said, we should not be building more nukes regardless. This is dumb.

    • bonus_crab@lemmy.worldEnglish
      41·
      1 year ago

      You can probably fit more bomb in the same package if you odnt have to worry about propellant

    • RedWeasel@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      I would lean to reliability and speed. Ballistic missiles don’t get a lot of testing while the bombers are flown regularly and takeoff/land pretty much anywhere .