Sandia B61-11 test 11/2013

Sandia B61-11 test

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A ground-penetrating bomb, minus its nuclear components, rammed through a target at the remote Coyote Canyon test range last month in Sandia National Laboratories’ first such rocket-driven impact test in seven years. Engineers said the Sandia components on the weapon performed as expected.

Sandia has been testing the B61 at the TTR lately, though this test was done at the Sandia New Mexico facility. Press releases about the B61 modernization program thus far have concentrated on the radar altimeter. This time they tested the earth penetration capability of the bomb. It may not be related to modernization but more towards seeing if they still work as designed.

My guess is this is ground zero:
N34.977893 w106.476211

i liked it better when they tested in the atmosphere, WITH the warhead. "Trinity and Beyond" is one of my all time favorite movies. Nukes are awesome and the US was so much cooler back in the day when they would detonate those things right out in the open were everyone could see! its not like it matters, we're a dead specis that lives on a dead planet so why worry about stupid stuf like fall out or deficits or health care! let's have some fun for a change. lets nuke Vegas !

reply to post by gariac


Whether your guess at ground zero is right or wrong, appreciate the 411 as 'testing' scenarios are indicative of current capabilities.

facelift
reply to post by gariac

 

Whether your guess at ground zero is right or wrong, appreciate the 411 as 'testing' scenarios are indicative of current capabilities.

Well it is the only target in that valley. That makes it is good guess. ;-)

However, it doesn't look like a hard target.

reply to post by gariac


In the article they mentioned Sandia's Aerial Cable Facility, which is here: 34°59'28.75"N, 106°25'16.47"W.

www.sandia.gov...

There they can test hard targets.

tencap77
we're a dead specis that lives on a dead planet so why worry about stupid stuf like fall out or deficits or health care! let's have some fun for a change. lets nuke Vegas !

or speeling...

Although I also enjoy "Trinity and Beyond", I really believe the world would be a far better place without nuclear weapons.

reply to post by Sammamishman


This looks like fun:
cable test

reply to post by gariac


Where do I sign up!

KQED forum on nukes

The author of this books says there were two ways to upgrade the B61. The cheap way (only a billion) and the expensive way ($11 billion). The expensive method was chosen. To be fair, if the cheap way was to keep the old vacuum tube parts, I'd go for the redesign or just scrap the project. A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you are talking real money. [Everett Dirksen]

The trouble with nukes is nobody is really going to use them, well at least intentionally. Accidents are another story. So nukes don't attract the best and brightest anymore. Hence the never ending stream of USAF nuke scandals. Next year we will note that seven decades have passed since anyone got nuked, well at least with a bomb.

About 75 percent of the basic B61 redesign is complete, and the lab expects to reach 95 percent before the first planned test flight in Nevada next year, according to Hommert.

B61-12