#B61

[nelc]

Safety testing of the B61-12 nuclear bomb, aka "Will it go off if we hit it really hard?"

[rollerman1]

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: Aoife O’Donovan and the Westerlies - “B61”

The Ice House, “one of (Aoife O’Donovan’s) favorite bars in NYC,” figures prominently in “B61.” So it also figures O’Donovan would record a new version of the track at said watering hole.

This one finds O’Donovan and her acoustic guitar accompanied by the brass quartet known as the Westerlies. What transpires is a cool idea that doesn’t work out as well as it should.

The arrangement doesn’t quite gel and the makeshift recording atmosphere results in less-than-ideal sound quality. But O’Donovan and the Westerlies have time to work it out as they head out on tour with a promise “to play this song every night” after O’Donovan wraps her full-album performances of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.

“It’s an honor to make music with” the Westerlies, O’Donovan said in a statement.

Grade card: Aoife O’Donovan and the Westerlies - “B61” - C+

4/12/23

[theghostwhotumbles]

What the hell, blow up the world!

WAR PIGS DREAM SOON TO BE A REALITY The warmongering American government — God love it! — is building the most powerful nuclear bomb ever devised by mankind. Yes, ladies and germs, the super-weapon we have always dreamed of will be 24 times more destructive than the bomb that levelled Hiroshima. The so-called B61-13 would instantly wipe out one million lives and leave hundreds of thousands…

[subscribe1]

"Unveiling the B61-13: The New Era of Nuclear Weapons"

[planesawesome]

Grumman A-6 Intruder an American twin engine all-weather attack aircraft designed by Grumman for the US Navy and US Marine Corps.

The Intruder was conceived in response to a 1957 Bureau of Aeronautics requirement for an all-weather attack aircraft to replace the A-1 Skyraider it was required to perform Navy long-range interdiction missions and to have STOL capability for Marine close air support. Her first flight was April 19, 1960 and was introduced into service 3 years later in 1963.

The A-6 was the first Navy aircraft with an integrated airframe and weapons system. It's 2 man crew (Pilot and Bombardier/Navigator) operated in side by side seating. The A-6 had a staggering 18,000 lb (8,200 kg) payload with an equally impressive 1,010 mile (1,626 km) unrefueled range with max payload, her max speed was 640 mph (1,040 km/h) and cruise speed of 474 mph (763 km/h.) The diverse array of air to surface ordinance the Intruder was capable of carrying included nearly every iron/ cluster bomb in the US Navy/USMC inventory, later on nearly every LGB (Laser Guided Bomb) including the rocket powered AGM-123 Skipper LGB, the AGM-62 Walleye, AGM-65 Maverick, the AGM-84 Harpoon anti ship missile and AGM-45, AGM-78, and AGM-88 HARM Anti Radiation missiles (for eliminating enemy SAMs and Radar installations) ADM-141 TALD (Tactical Air Launched Decoy) And could even carry AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs for self defense. In addition to the wealth of conventional weapons the A-6 was capable of carrying B43, B57 or B61 Nuclear weapons, and would have delivered them with toss bombing techniques.

In the early 1970's 90 A-6's were converted to KA-6D Tanker aircraft to replace the KA-3B Skywarrior tankers.

Nearly 700 A-6 Intruders were built for the USN and USMC and that's quite a significant number given there were no foreign customers. The Intruder served from 1963-1997 with the US Navy (USMC retired their A-6's 4 years prior in 1993) a 34 year career. The A-6's intended replacement the A-12 Avenger a stealthy flying wing never came to be and in it's stead the F-14 Tomcat with LANTIRN pods took up the precision strike mission until itself being replaced by the F/A-18E Super Hornet.

[animusrox]

LETTERBOXD

1.   The Batman 2.   Everything Everywhere All at Once 3.   Prey 4.   Triangle of Sadness 5.   Barbarian 6.  The Northman 7.   Bodies Bodies Bodies 8.   The Banshees of Inisherin 9.   Bones and All 10.   Avatar: The Way of Water

Grade A

11.   Turning Red 12.   The Menu 13.   Babylon 14.   Hit the Road 15.   Cow 16.   Watcher 17.   Funny Pages 18.   Mad God 19.   On the Count of Three 20.   Armageddon Time 21.   Terrifier 2 22.   Marcel the Shell with Shoes On 23.   Smile 24.   Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery 25.   Holy Spider 26.   Aftersun 27.   The Fabelmans 28.   Breaking 29.   Decision to Leave 30.   The Whale 31.   All Quiet on the Western Front 32.   Brian and Charles 33.   Piggy 34.   Saint Omer 35.   Thirteen Lives 36.   Men 37.   The Fallout 38.   Resurrection 39.   Causeway 40.  The Black Phone 41.   Official Competition 42.   Nope 43.  Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio 44.   Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood 45.   Till 46.   TÁR 47.   Happening 48.   A Love Song 49.   The Outfit 50.   The Innocents 51.   Jackass Forever 52.   BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths 53.   Montana Story 54.   Three Thousand Years of Longing 55.   You Won’t Be Alone 56.   The Sadness 57.   Halloween Ends 58.   Pearl 59.   X 60.   Vesper

Click "Keep Reading” For My Full List

Grade B

61.   This Place Rules 62.   Fresh 63.   Windfall 64.   Kimi 65.   No Exit 66.   Top Gun: Maverick 67.   “Sr.” 68.   Farha 69.   The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent 70.   Weird: The Al Yankovic Story 71.   Nitram 72.   Speak No Evil 73.   Run Sweetheart Run 74.   She Said 75.   White Noise 76.   Puss in Boots: The Last Wish 77.   V/H/S/99 78.   The Wonder 79.   Women Talking 80.   Hatching 81.   Soft & Quiet 82.   Scream 83.   To Leslie 84.   Hustle 85.   Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers 86.   Dual 87.   God’s Country 88.   Emancipation 89.   Vengeance 90.   Fire of Love 91.   Bullet Train 92.   Incantation 93.   The Valet 94.   Hellraiser 95.   Christmas Bloody Christmas 96.   Significant Other 97.   Cha Cha Real Smooth 98.   Lucy and Desi 99.   Not Okay 100.   A Christmas Story Christmas 101.   Blonde 102.   Deadstream 103.   Sissy

Grade C

104.   The Bad Guys 105.   The Cursed 106.   Empire of Light 107.   A Man Called Otto 108.   Broker 109.   Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 110.   The Princess 111.   Beast 112.   After Yang 113.   RRR 114.   Fall 115.   Jackass 4.5 116.   Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe 117.   Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 118.   Jennifer Lopez: Halftime 119.   Lightyear 120.   The Pale Blue Eye 121.   The Woman King 122.   Violent Night 123.   God’s Creatures 124.   Ambulance 125.   Elvis 126.   You Are Not My Mother 127.   Emily the Criminal 128.   Crimes of the Future 129.   The Apology 130.   The Lost City 131.   Wendell & Wild 132.   Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99 133.   The Found Footage Phenomenon 134.   See How They Run 135.   Spiderhead 136.   Studio 666 137.   Bros 138.   Spin Me Round 139.   We’re All Going to the World’s Fair 140.   Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank 141.   Honor Society

Grade D

142.   Thor: Love and Thunder 143.   Summering 144.   Strange World 145.   Glorious 146.   The Gray Man 147.   Devotion 148.   Clerks III 149.   The Forgiven 150.   Enola Holmes 2 151.   Father Stu 152.   Jurassic World Dominion 153.   DC League of Super-Pets 154.   She Will 155.   The Bob’s Burgers Movie 156.   Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody 157.   Hellbender 158.   Samaritan 159.   Day Shift 160.   Sonic the Hedgehog 2 161.   Prey for the Devil 162.   Troll 163.   Uncharted 164.  Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile 165.   Dashcam 166.   Firestarter 167.   Do Revenge 168.   Catwoman: Hunted 169.   The Munsters 170.   Amsterdam 171.   Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Grade F

172.   Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris 173.   The Bubble 174.   Dead for a Dollar 175.   Jerry & Marge Go Large 176.   Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. 177.   Infinite Storm 178.   Marry Me 179.   Don’t Worry Darling 180.   Spirited 181.   Disney's Pinocchio 182.   Alice 183.   Black Adam 184.   Orphan: First Kill 185.   The Adam Project 186.   The Invitation 187.   Texas Chainsaw Massacre 188.   Ticket to Paradise 189.   The 355 190.   Umma

Bottom 10

191.   Green Lantern: Beware My Power 192.   Deep Water 193.   Where the Crawdads Sing 194.   Blacklight 195.   Mack & Rita 196.   Memory 197.   Me Time 198.   Death on the Nile 199.   Morbius 200.   Moonfall

[barbariankingdom]

Scale comparison of the ~15 kiloton Little Boy atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima (left) and a modern B61 series nuclear gravity bomb (maximum yield of ~360 kilotons)

[elvis2130]

Mack B61 Pickup

[usafphantom2]

B-2 Gets Big Upgrade with New Open Mission Systems Capability

July 18, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber has been upgraded with a new open missions systems (OMS) software capability and other improvements to keep it relevant and credible until it’s succeeded by the B-21 Raider, Northrop Grumman announced. The changes accelerate the rate at which new weapons can be added to the B-2; allow it to accept constant software updates, and adapt it to changing conditions.

“The B-2 program recently achieved a major milestone by providing the bomber with its first fieldable, agile integrated functional capability called Spirit Realm 1 (SR 1),” the company said in a release. It announced the upgrade going operational on July 17, the 35th anniversary of the B-2’s first flight.

SR 1 was developed inside the Spirit Realm software factory codeveloped by the Air Force and Northrop to facilitate software improvements for the B-2. “Open mission systems” means that the aircraft has a non-proprietary software architecture that simplifies software refresh and enhances interoperability with other systems.

“SR 1 provides mission-critical capability upgrades to the communications and weapons systems via an open mission systems architecture, directly enhancing combat capability and allowing the fleet to initiate a new phase of agile software releases,” Northrop said in its release.

The system is intended to deliver problem-free software on the first go—but should they arise, correct software issues much earlier in the process.

The SR 1 was “fully developed inside the B-2 Spirit Realm software factory that was established through a partnership with Air Force Global Strike Command and the B-2 Systems Program Office,” Northrop said.

The Spirit Realm software factory came into being less than two years ago, with four goals: to reduce flight test risk and testing time through high-fidelity ground testing; to capture more data test points through targeted upgrades; to improve the B-2’s functional capabilities through more frequent, automated testing; and to facilitate more capability upgrades to the jet.

The Air Force said B-2 software updates which used to take two years can now be implemented in less than three months.

In addition to B61 or B83 nuclear weapons, the B-2 can carry a large number of precision-guided conventional munitions. However, the Air Force is preparing to introduce a slate of new weapons that will require near-constant target updates and the ability to integrate with USAF’s evolving long-range kill chain. A quicker process for integrating these new weapons with the B-2’s onboard communications, navigation, and sensor systems was needed.

The upgrade also includes improved displays, flight hardware and other enhancements to the B-2’s survivability, Northrop said.

“We are rapidly fielding capabilities with zero software defects through the software factory development ecosystem and further enhancing the B-2 fleet’s mission effectiveness,” said Jerry McBrearty, Northrop’s acting B-2 program manager.

The upgrade makes the B-2 the first legacy nuclear weapons platform “to utilize the Department of Defense’s DevSecOps [development, security, and operations] processes and digital toolsets,” it added.

The software factory approach accelerates adding new and future weapons to the stealth bomber, and thus improve deterrence, said Air Force Col. Frank Marino, senior materiel leader for the B-2.

The B-2 was not designed using digital methods—the way its younger stablemate, the B-21 Raider was—but the SR 1 leverages digital technology “to design, manage, build and test B-2 software more efficiently than ever before,” the company said.

The digital tools can also link with those developed for other legacy systems to accomplish “more rapid testing and fielding and help identify and fix potential risks earlier in the software development process.”

Following two crashes in recent years, the stealthy B-2 fleet comprises 19 aircraft, which are the only penetrating aircraft in the Air Force’s bomber fleet until the first B-21s are declared to have achieved initial operational capability at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. A timeline for IOC has not been disclosed.

The B-2 is a stealthy, long-range, penetrating nuclear and conventional strike bomber. It is based on a flying wing design combining LO with high aerodynamic efficiency. The aircraft’s blended fuselage/wing holds two weapons bays capable of carrying nearly 60,000 lb in various combinations.

Spirit entered combat during Allied Force on March 24, 1999, striking Serbian targets. Production was completed in three blocks, and all aircraft were upgraded to Block 30 standard with AESA radar. Production was limited to 21 aircraft due to cost, and a single B-2 was subsequently lost in a crash at Andersen, Feb. 23, 2008.

Modernization is focused on safeguarding the B-2A’s penetrating strike capability in high-end threat environments and integrating advanced weapons.

The B-2 achieved a major milestone in 2022 with the integration of a Radar Aided Targeting System (RATS), enabling delivery of the modernized B61-12 precision-guided thermonuclear freefall weapon. RATS uses the aircraft’s radar to guide the weapon in GPS-denied conditions, while additional Flex Strike upgrades feed GPS data to weapons prerelease to thwart jamming. A B-2A successfully dropped an inert B61-12 using RATS on June 14, 2022, and successfully employed the longer-range JASSM-ER cruise missile in a test launch last December.

Ongoing upgrades include replacing the primary cockpit displays, the Adaptable Communications Suite (ACS) to provide Link 16-based jam-resistant in-flight retasking, advanced IFF, crash-survivable data recorders, and weapons integration. USAF is also working to enhance the fleet’s maintainability with LO signature improvements to coatings, materials, and radar-absorptive structures such as the radome and engine inlets/exhausts.

Two B-2s were damaged in separate landing accidents at Whiteman on Sept. 14, 2021, and Dec. 10, 2022, the latter prompting an indefinite fleetwide stand-down until May 18, 2023. USAF plans to retire the fleet once the B-21 Raider enters service in sufficient numbers around 2032.

Contractors: Northrop Grumman; Boeing; Vought.

First Flight: July 17, 1989.

Delivered: December 1993-December 1997.

IOC: April 1997, Whiteman AFB, Mo.

Production: 21.

Inventory: 20.

Operator: AFGSC, AFMC, ANG (associate).

Aircraft Location: Edwards AFB, Calif.; Whiteman AFB, Mo.

Active Variant: •B-2A. Production aircraft upgraded to Block 30 standards.

Dimensions: Span 172 ft, length 69 ft, height 17 ft.

Weight: Max T-O 336,500 lb.

Power Plant: Four GE Aviation F118-GE-100 turbofans, each 17,300 lb thrust.

Performance: Speed high subsonic, range 6,900 miles (further with air refueling).

Ceiling: 50,000 ft.

Armament: Nuclear: 16 B61-7, B61-12, B83, or eight B61-11 bombs (on rotary launchers). Conventional: 80 Mk 62 (500-lb) sea mines, 80 Mk 82 (500-lb) bombs, 80 GBU-38 JDAMs, or 34 CBU-87/89 munitions (on rack assemblies); or 16 GBU-31 JDAMs, 16 Mk 84 (2,000-lb) bombs, 16 AGM-154 JSOWs, 16 AGM-158 JASSMs, or eight GBU-28 LGBs.

Accommodation: Two pilots on ACES II zero/zero ejection seats.

[miazims]

Here's the CC of 19/07/24.

CC links under the cut.

Outfit 1:

Hair: Paloma Hairstyle - The Sims 4 Create a Sim - CurseForge

Necklace: Barbie beach outfit, SET - The Sims 4 Create a Sim - CurseForge

Eyeshadow: The Sims Resource - Orchid Eyeshadow

Top: The Sims Resource - SET 433 - Top

Pants: The Sims Resource - SET 434 - Stripe Pants

Nails: The Sims Resource - Liz Nails

Shoes: The Sims Resource - Buckled Black Wedges

Outfit 2:

Hair: SSalon - Female Hairstyle S100 - The Sims 4 Create a Sim - CurseForge

Lipstick: The Sims Resource - Orchid Lipstick

Dress: The Sims Resource - SHORT BOHO DRESS

Leggings: Leggings Mix More Colors - The Sims 4 Create a Sim - CurseForge

Shoes: The Sims Resource - Female Summer Sandals

Outfit 3:

Hair: The Sims Resource - WINGS-EF0715-Fluffy middle-parted short hair

Earrings: The Sims Resource - Opal Triple Studs

Eyeshadow: The Sims Resource - Simple Eyeshadow - Everyday Makeup Set

Blush: The Sims Resource - Orchid Blush

Top: The Sims Resource - April Summer Festival Top

Skirt: The Sims Resource - SET 433 - Skirt

Shoes: The Sims Resource - Buckled Black Wedges

Outfit 4:

Hair: SSalon - Female Hairstyle B60 - The Sims 4 Create a Sim - CurseForge

Earrings: The Sims Resource - Summer Festival Gem Earrings

Lashes: The Sims Resource - IMF Celine Eyeliner N.280 (with 2d lashes)

Dress: The Sims Resource - Blair Dress

Shoes: The Sims Resource - (Summer Festival) Beach Party Shoes

Outfit 5:

Hair: SSalon - Female Hairstyle B61 - The Sims 4 Create a Sim - CurseForge

Earrings: The Sims Resource - Cross Earrings version 2

Eyeshadow: Grunge Flow Eyeshadow - The Sims 4 Create a Sim - CurseForge

Eyeliner: The Sims Resource - Orchid Liner

Top: Couture Top N5 - The Sims 4 Create a Sim - CurseForge

Shorts: The Sims Resource - Sarah - Athletic Shorts

Shoes: The Sims Resource - (Summer Festival) Beach Party Shoes

Outfit 6:

Hair: The Sims Resource - (Summer festival)Wet hairstyle 070724

Earrings: Cecile Shell Earrings - The Sims 4 Create a Sim - CurseForge

Eyeshadow: The Sims Resource - Summer Festival Eyeshadow HQ

Dress: The Sims Resource - Summer long dress

Shoes: The Sims Resource - Female Summer Sandals

[nelc]

Integration testing of the F-35 and B61 nuclear bomb

[humanoidhistory]

"A B61-12 test unit slams into a target at the end of Sandia National Laboratories’ 10,000-foot rocket sled track in a complex forward ballistics test. The test, which mimicked a high-speed accident, allowed engineers to examine safety features inside the weapon."

(Sandia National Laboratories)

[kiwi-rebel-57-06]

Kiwi Rebel. Mack B61 Wrecker.

[lonelychairsatcern]

White on white in the main building #main #b61 #directorate #dg #lonelychairsatcern #cern #coatrack

[nekomattta]

B61 Nuclear Bombdog