A Golden Mistake: The B61-12 is the most expensive nuclear warhead in U.S. history
http://www.ploughshares.org/blog/2012-07-30/golden-mistake
A Golden Mistake
By Benjamin Loehrke
July 30, 2012
The B61 life extension program gets a gold medal for setting records as the most expensive nuclear warhead in U.S. history. It also gets another ignominious recognition costing more than its weight in solid gold.
The B61 bombs are the oldest bombs in the operational arsenal first deployed in the 1960s. The Life Extension Program is intended to update and overhaul the warheads to keep them in the arsenal for decades to come, allowing the B61 to continue serving as the last remaining tactical nuclear warhead in the arsenal. The bombs remain deployed in Europe, despite broad recognition that they have no military utility.
Unfortunately, the life extension program (LEP) for the B-61 nuclear bomb is now projected to cost $10 billion. When we first heard that, some quipped that the bomb must be gold-plated. It's not. That would be too cheap.
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For a bomb that has no place in a 21st century military strategy, $10 billion might be too much to pay. Instead of extending the B61's life, wouldn't it make more sense to let it finish its golden years in the dismantlement queue?