Arab News Japan

DUBAI: The US’ Pentagon announced plans for a new nuclear bomb 24 times the power of the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

The US proposed the new B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb would be dropped from an aircraft known as the B21 Raider stealth bomber, which is currently in development and is estimated to cost around $692 million USD.

The new weapon still needs to be signed off by Congress but was met with approval from the US’ Republican party.

According to the Daily Mail, the Pentagon said: “The B61-13 will strengthen deterrence of adversaries and assurance of allies and partners by providing the President with additional options against certain harder and large-area military targets.”

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb also said that the announcement of the weapon is “reflective of a changing security environment and growing threats from potential adversaries.”

“The B61-13 represents a reasonable step to manage the challenges of a highly dynamic security environment. It provides us with additional flexibility,” he added.

The weapon will have a maximum yield of 360 kilotons – 24 times the roughly 15 kiloton yield of the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.

The bomb dropped on Nagasaki three days later had a yield of about 25 kilotons.