Sputnik: Amid efforts to modernize its nuclear stockpile, the US test-dropped two dummy nukes in the Nevada desert earlier this month.
With the United States’ Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBMs) arsenal aging, the US Air Force has pushed the Pentagon to fund nuclear modernization programs.
To that end, the Air Force conducted successful tests with two B61 nuclear bombs. Neither carried a live warhead.
“The primary objective of flight testing is to obtain reliability, accuracy, and performance data under operational representative conditions,” reads a statement released by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
“Such testing is part of the qualification process of current altercations and life extension programs for weapon systems.”
The 700-pound bombs were dropped by B-2 bombers over a test range in Nevada.
A better guided nuke test site would be Mecca, during the peak of the hajj. Drop a couple fake ones just to give them something to worry about before the real one hits.
It’s not exactly clear to me what was accomplished here, but I guess every now and again you have to run a test to make sure gravity still works.
😉
To Vietvet: They should have dropped live ones on SF and LA, it would solve a lot of problems.
Fake President, drops Fake Bombs on Fake Target.
Everything Obama has done is either fake or flummoxed up.
Could have dropped bags of sand to get the same result.
I smell BULLSHIT.
izlamo delenda est …
Not fake, not BS. Need to drop dummies (begin the jokes!) to check the bomber sight alignment and bomb aerodynamics so that the bomb will hit where you want it to hit, not somewhere else (Urkel voice — “oops. did I do thaaaat?”)
I guess they needed to drop dummy bombs on Nevada to make sure that when the time comes they can successfully and accurately drop real bombs on Nevada.
@Deplorable B Woodman: I thought the whole point of nuclear weapons was that you don’t have to worry that much about pinpoint accuracy – pretty much anywhere in the general vicinity will suffice.
😉
(P.S. – Just kidding. I understand what you are saying.)
@batcat: Let’s not forget Seattle.
🙂