 "US launches qualification tests for upgraded nuke bomb")
Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories are claiming success with the first in a new series of test flights that are part of an effort to upgrade one of the nuclear weapons that has been in the US arsenal for decades.
An F-16 from Nellis Air Force Base dropped an inert B61- 12 bomb over the Nevada desert last month to test the weapon's non-nuclear functions as well as the plane's ability to carry the weapon.
With a puff of dust, the mock bomb landed in a dry lake bed at the Tonopah Test Range.
Scientists are planning to spend months analysing the data gathered from the test.
Officials say the first production unit of the B61-12, developed under what is called the Life Extension Program, is scheduled to be completed in 2020.
An F-16 from Nellis Air Force Base dropped an inert B61- 12 bomb over the Nevada desert last month to test the weapon's non-nuclear functions as well as the plane's ability to carry the weapon.
With a puff of dust, the mock bomb landed in a dry lake bed at the Tonopah Test Range.
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Officials say the first production unit of the B61-12, developed under what is called the Life Extension Program, is scheduled to be completed in 2020.
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