This Video Makes Test Dropping A B61 Nuclear Bomb Look Like An Elegant Dance

Published Aug 21, 2018 4:49 PM EDT

Last November, we brought you a rare tour of Tonopah Test Range , a normally shy and sensitive installation located among the USAF’s restricted range in the middle of the Nevada desert. Now Sandia National Labs has posted an incredibly well-produced video showing how all the facets of a nuclear weapons delivery test mission come together in an incredibly elegant fashion.

In this case, F-15E Strike Eagles are seen dropping inert B61-3/4 tactical nuclear bombs. In one clip we can see the bomb’s spin-stabilization rockets fire and in a series of others, you can see a parachute deploy. These depict two delivery profiles. The first being a medium altitude delivery and the other a low altitude drop—at 900 feet to be exact.

In regards to the latter, during an actual nuclear strike, the parachute would allow the F-15E to make it a safe distance away before detonation, with the warhead detonating at a pre-described height above ground, or in lay-down mode, where the bomb would lay on the ground a finite amount of time before detonating.

Yes, it would be one terrible way to go with one of these things splayed out on the ground in front of you shortly before being vaporized by its thermonuclear hellfire .

Currently, the new ‘smart’ B61-12 is deep in development, some of which has occurred at Tonopah Test Range. The B61-12 is slated to replace all four B61 variants still in use. The program is so expensive that each of the weapons is literally worth more than its weight in gold!

Beyond the ominous nature of the test subject, the video gives a great sense of many of the components that go into a single test and just how heavily instrumented and staffed the range is during these evolutions. Among all the advanced sensors and gear we also see some of the range’s dilapidated infrastructure, which is unsurprising as it has been actively supporting America’s nuclear apparatus, among other duties, for 61 years.

What we don’t see is nearby Tonopah Test Range Airport that has its own amazing history. It includes foreign materiel exploitation (FME) programs, acting as the highly clandestine operational home and now the resting place of the F-117 Nighthawk, along with other classified operational and test duties, many of which continue on till this very day.

With nuclear weapons experiencing a renaissance of sorts within the Department of Defense, at least for now , Tonopah Test Range’s star is set to shine a bit brighter within the sprawling constellation of test and development facilities that collectively support America’s massive arsenal.

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

Comments couldn’t be loaded. Please refresh the page.

发布于美国东部时间2018年8月21日下午4:49

去年11月，我们曾带您罕见地参观了位于内华达沙漠中心地带、美国空军禁区内的托诺帕试验场。该试验场通常行事低调，十分敏感。如今，桑迪亚国家实验室发布了一段制作精良的视频，以极其优雅的方式展现了核武器投送试验任务的各个环节是如何协同运作的。

这段视频展示了F-15E“攻击鹰”战斗机投掷B61-3/4型惰性战术核弹的过程。在一个片段中，我们可以看到炸弹的自旋稳定火箭点火；在随后的几个片段中，可以看到降落伞展开。这些片段展示了两种不同的投掷方式：一种是中空投掷，另一种是低空投掷——确切地说是900英尺（约274米）的低空投掷。

关于后者，在实际核打击中，降落伞可以让 F-15E 在引爆前飞到安全距离，弹头会在预定的离地高度引爆；或者采用卧倒模式，炸弹会在地面上停留一段有限的时间后引爆。

是的，如果这种东西在你面前摊开在地上，然后很快就被它的热核地狱之火汽化，那将是一种非常可怕的死法。

目前，新型“智能”B61-12正在紧锣密鼓地研发中，部分研发工作已在托诺帕试验场完成。B61-12计划取代目前仍在服役的全部四种B61改进型。该项目耗资巨大，每件武器的价值都堪比黄金！

除了测试对象本身令人不安的特性之外，这段视频也清晰地展现了单次测试所需的诸多环节，以及靶场在测试过程中投入的大量设备和人员。在所有先进的传感器和设备中，我们也能看到靶场一些破旧的基础设施，这并不令人意外，因为该靶场在过去61年中一直积极支持着美国的核设施运行，并承担着其他诸多职责。

我们看不到的是附近的托诺帕试验场机场，它本身也拥有令人惊叹的历史。这里曾是外国物资利用（FME）项目的基地，也是高度机密的F-117“夜鹰”战斗机的退役地，此外还承担着其他许多机密作战和测试任务，其中许多任务至今仍在进行。

鉴于核武器在美国国防部内部正经历某种复兴，至少目前来看，托诺帕试验场在庞大的试验和研发设施网络中必将更加熠熠生辉，这些设施共同支撑着美国庞大的武器库。

联系作者：Tyler@thedrive.com

评论加载失败，请刷新页面。