First AF jet compatible with B61-12

The F-15E Strike Eagle has become the first Air Force combat jet to prove it is compatible with the refurbished B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb, according to Sandia National Laboratories. An F-15E took off from Nellis AFB, Nev., and dropped a mock B61-12 from 25,000 feet in March, hitting the desert floor at SNL's Tonopah Test Range 55 seconds later. Officials also conducted a lower-altitude flight test at Tonopah, 160 miles from NAFB. The jet released a mock weapon while flying “nearly at the speed of sound” at about 1,000 feet. The flights marked the last of six flight tests and wrapped up demonstrations with the full weapon system. (Source: AF Magazine 06/08/20)