Experts say this new higher-yield nuclear bomb appears intended to pave the way for retiring the older B83 megaton bomb.

US to build new nuclear gravity bomb::Experts say this new higher-yield nuclear bomb appears intended to pave the way for retiring the older B83 megaton bomb.

  • Furbag@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    1 year ago

    Wouldn’t even technically be nuclear powered, it just has a nuclear payload. I feel like the use of “gravity” in this article was an unnecessary addition.

    When most people think “bomb”, they don’t think immediately think of “guided missile”, they thing something that is either planted or dropped from above, and in this case the latter describes exactly what kind of bomb this is.

    • abhibeckert@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      These “bombs” likely fall dozens of miles through the air travelling at about a thousand feet per second. They absolutely have a guidance system to keep them on course, basically exactly the same as a missile except without the rocket.

      The only real difference between a missile and a “gravity bomb” is they have to be closer to the target when they are “fired”. Oh, and gravity bombs are cheaper. A lot cheaper.

      Even if you never fire a missile they still have to be maintained. See Russia vs Ukraine war… It’s estimated 60% of Russian missiles don’t even explode at all. And the ones that do are often nowhere near the target due to a guidance system failures. If they were properly maintained they’d work better than that.