This Is What An $8 Billion Nuclear Bomb Upgrade Looks Like

B61 Thermonuclear Bomb. The B61 nuclear bomb is designed for carriage by aircraft at supersonic flight speeds and is the primary thermonuclear weapon in the U.S. stockpile since the end of the Cold War. The weapon was designed and built by the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico beginning in 1961 and has been produced in several versions. Wikipedia

PBS: Photos: What an $8B nuclear bomb upgrade looks like

Designing and building nuclear bombs is one of the U.S. government’s most secretive activities. But the PBS NewsHour recently was granted unprecedented access to a number of highly classified facilities, where the world’s most destructive weapons are now being updated and rebuilt.

The Department of Energy — which is responsible for maintaining the atomic stockpile — plans to spend $100 billion over the next decade rebuilding its production facilities and refitting nuclear weapons with modernized parts. Department officials say their goal is to replace the components in nuclear weapons that have aged, improve their safety, and streamline the stockpile by reducing the number of different bomb models in inventory.

WNU Editor: I always find it incredible that something that is this small can ... when used .... essentially vaporize an entire city.